Polls open in Taiwan’s key ‘recall election’ closely watched by China

Voting has started in a recall election that could see the unseating of dozens of opposition Kuomintang lawmakers.

Polls have opened in Taiwan’s high-stakes recall election that could give President William William Lai Ching-te’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) control of parliament, and send what his supporters describe as a strong rebuke to China.

Saturday’s polls on whether to recall one-fifth of the island’s parliament, all from the major Kuomintang (KMT) opposition party, have been denounced by critics as an assault on democracy. But Taiwan’s government has also accused China of “unprecedented” interference in the democratic process of the island.

Polling stations opened at 8am local time (00:00 GMT) with 24 Kuomintang (KMT) lawmakers facing potential recall. A recall election for an additional seven KMT lawmakers will be held on August 23.

President Lai’s DPP needs to unseat a minimum of 12 KMT lawmakers to gain temporary control of parliament, with risk analysis firm Eurasia Group giving that outcome “a 60 percent probability”.