TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Seven KMT legislators appeared to be surviving recall votes Saturday, less than a month after 24 KMT lawmakers also fought off recall attempts.

Recall campaigners accused the KMT of leaning too far toward China and of hampering efforts to strengthen Taiwan’s defense against China. The KMT in return said the government is trying to muzzle the opposition.

The lawmakers facing votes Saturday are Deputy Legislative Speaker Johnny Chiang (江啟臣), Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔), and Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恒) in Taichung, Ma Wen-chun (馬文君) and Yu Hao (游顥) in Nantou, Lo Ming-tsai (羅明才) in New Taipei, and Lin Szu-ming (林思銘) in Hsinchu County.

Counting started after the polls closed at 4 p.m., with early results running two to one in favor of the incumbents, per CNA. Similar trends emerged in reports from other media and on the website of the Central Election Commission.

A recall vote can only be successful if it receives more votes in favor than against, and if the votes in favor of the recall number more than 25% of the eligible voters in the election district. If the recall fails, then the lawmaker in question can sit out the rest of his term until the end of January 2028 without any new recall votes.

The KMT are the largest party in the Legislative Yuan, holding 52 out of 113 seats. The ruling DPP has 51 seats, the TPP has eight, and the KMT-leaning independents two.

The Central Election Commission also scheduled a nationwide referendum about reactivation of the Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung for Saturday. The government has urged voters to reject the proposal, while the KMT and the TPP have called on the public to support the nuclear restart.