Overview
- Preliminary tallies show voters opposed the recall of 24 Kuomintang lawmakers, allowing them to retain their seats in the 113-member legislature.
- The outcome prevents President Lai Ching-te’s Democratic Progressive Party from regaining a majority needed to reverse recent budget cuts and restore defense spending.
- Former KMT President Ma Ying-jeou urged supporters in Taipei to punish the DPP at the ballot box, and both KMT and TPP accused the ruling party of undermining democratic norms.
- The DPP, which backed the citizen-led recall initiatives, had cast the KMT as pro-Beijing and a security risk amid rising cross-strait tensions.
- A second recall vote targeting seven additional KMT seats is set for August 23, and official results for the July 26 vote will be confirmed on August 1.