Taiwan President takes responsibility for election defeat, resigns as party chief

Taiwan Of President Sai Ing-wen resigned from the post of the head of the ruling party Democratic Progressive on Saturday evening after the defeat in the local elections. Sai resigned from the post of party chief after a brief address following the tradition after the electoral defeat. During this, he also thanked the supporters.

Sai said she takes responsibility for the defeat as she herself selected the candidates for Saturday’s election. Voters in Taiwan chose the opposition Nationalist Party for a number of key positions in Saturday’s election, in which local issues dominated rather than concerns about threats from China.

Elections in 13 regions and 9 cities

Nationalist Party candidate Chiang Wan-en won the mayoral post in the capital Taipei. Other opposition party candidates captured the mayoral posts of Taoyuan, Taichung and New Taipei City. Voting took place in all 13 regions (counties) and nine cities in Taiwan to elect mayors, city council members and other local leaders. Through this poll, a referendum is also being conducted whether the minimum age of voters should be reduced from 20 years to 18 years. Voting started at 8 am local time on Saturday.

Voters started arriving at the polling stations since morning on Saturday for the local body elections in Taiwan. These elections were being seen as a test of strength for the island’s major political parties ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

While international observers and the ruling party have attempted to link the election to a long-term existential threat from neighboring Taiwan, many local experts do not see a major role for China this time around.

(input from language)