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DPP's Chen Chi-mai wins Kaohsiung by-election
By ECCT staff writers
The candidate of Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won the mayoral by-election in Kaohsiung by a large margin, returning control of the city to the DPP, which it lost to the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) in November 2018.
The by-election was held after a recall vote in early June to remove the KMT's Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), who won election in November 2018 and ended the DPP's 20-year hold on the city.
In the by-election, Chen garnered 671,804 votes, or 70.03% of the total, compared to the KMT's Li Mei-jhen (李眉蓁) who won 25.9% of the vote while the candidate from the Taiwan People's Party's (TPP's) Wu Yi-jheng (吳益政), won 4.06%.
Both Li and Wu are incumbent Kaohsiung city councillors. Wu represented the TPP even though he is also a member of the People First Party.
Voter turnout at 41.83%, even lower than the 42.14% turnout for the recall vote and the 66% turnout rate for the 2014 mayoral election, 73% for the 2018 mayoral election, and 74% for the 11 January 2020 presidential and legislative elections.