Several officials from the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) have tendered their resignation following a major defeat for the party in Saturday’s mayoral by-election in Kaohsiung. That was the word from KMT Chairperson Johnny Chiang on Monday.
The KMT’s candidate, Li Mei-jhen, received less than 26% of the vote on Saturday. The ruling DPP’s Chen Chi-mai won the race with 70% of the vote.
Top KMT officials met on Monday to discuss the race. After the meeting, the KMT announced that the head of the party’s Kaohsiung office, Chuang Chi-wang, had submitted his resignation back in June after the recall of then-Mayor Han Kuo-yu. At the time, the party decided to retain Chuang to help with the by-election. The KMT says that with the conclusion of the by-election, Chuang has completed his mission and that the party is allowing him to take a break from duties.
Former KMT lawmaker Yeh Shou-shan has also stepped down from his position as one of the by-election campaign managers. The party says that it has asked KMT Secretary-General Lee Chien-lung to remain in office, as Lee helped a lot at the by-election frontlines.
KMT Spokesperson Wang Yu-min said Monday that the party will release a full report on September 6 detailing its defeat and its plans for the future.