Taiwan is set for a more contentious presidential race focused on rising tensions with China, after low turnout in local elections handed China-skeptic President Tsai Ing-wen’s party historic losses.
The ruling Democratic Progressive Party won just five of 21 city- and county-level races on Saturday, its worst showing since its founding in 1986. The opposition Kuomintang, which historically has an advantage in local elections, held onto 13 seats, gaining power in both the capital Taipei and export hub Taoyuan.
Tsai quit as head of the DPP to take responsibility for the losses, which came amid rising public disquiet over cost-of-living issues and an uptick in pandemic deaths. But while the KMT now controls four of the island’s six biggest cities, the turnout in those areas slumped to 59.86%, the lowest level since 1994, according to the Central Election Commission. The KMT also had surprising losses in Kinmen, Miaoli and Penghu counties.
