Taiwan votes to decide whether to oust lawmakers from China-friendly party in closely watched poll

TAIPEI Taiwan AP Taiwanese were voting Saturday to determine whether to oust about one-fifth of their lawmakers all from the opposition Nationalist Party in elections that could potentially reshape the power balance in the self-ruled island s legislature The independence-leaning ruling Democratic Progressive Party won last year s presidential vote but the China-friendly Nationalists also known as the KMT and the smaller Taiwan People s Party have enough seats to form a majority bloc Those who aid removing the lawmakers are angry that the KMT and its allies have blocked key measure especially the defense budget and passed controversial changes that are seen as diminishing the power of the executive and favoring China which considers the island its own territory The opposition parties actions sparked concerns among various Taiwanese about the island s democratic integrity and its ability to deter Chinese military threats leading to the recall campaigns The scale of the recall elections is unprecedented with another seven KMT lawmakers facing similar votes on Aug But the KMT alleged the ruling party was resorting to political retaliation after it lost the legislative majority saying the recalls were undermining and challenging Taiwan s democratic system The KMT holds seats while the ruling DPP holds seats For the DPP to secure a legislative majority at least six KMT lawmakers would need to be ousted and the ruling party would need to win all by-elections which would need to be held within three months following the announcement of results For the recall to pass more than a quarter of eligible voters in the electoral district must vote in favor of the recall and the total number of supporters must exceed those against If KMT loses its seats in the recall elections the party can file new candidates for the by-elections and may be able to win back the seats Outside a Taipei polling station voters old and young were waiting in line to cast their ballots The poll will close at p m local time with results expected on Saturday night The elections have intensified tensions between those backing the status quo and those favoring improved ties with Beijing Critics accuse China-friendly politicians of compromising Taiwan and take issue with their meetings with mainland Chinese politicians But these Taiwanese politicians claim their connections are vital for dialogue given Beijing s refusal to interact with the DPP When appealed about the recall vote China s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Zhu Fenglian reported in June that since the administration of Taiwan President Lai Ching-te came into power it has sought to achieve one-party dominance and practiced dictatorship under the guise of democracy state broadcaster CCTV revealed She was quoted as saying that Lai s regime has spared no effort in suppressing opposition parties and those who supported the improvement of cross-strait relations Taiwan s mainland affairs council noted Wednesday that the Chinese functionaries and state media had tried to blatantly interfere with the vote Leung broadcasted from Hong Kong Source