TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said Saturday (Nov. 26) she was resigning as chairperson of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) after it only won five cities and counties in local elections.
Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) also tendered his resignation, but Tsai won his agreement to stay on, according to the Liberty Times.
The DPP only maintained its hold on four cities and counties in the south; Kaohsiung, Tainan, Pingtung, and Chiayi County, while winning only Penghu County from the Kuomintang (KMT). The DPP lost Taoyuan City and Keelung City to the KMT and Hsinchu City to the Taiwan People’s Party, while failing to capture Taipei City, which was won by the KMT.
Speaking at a news conference, Tsai said that the election results were not what she expected, so she needed to shoulder responsibility and resign from the party’s leadership, the Liberty Times reported. There is still a significant gap between the DPP’s governance at the local level and the expectations of the public, she said.
