2016 Taiwanese general election

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2016 Taiwanese general election
Flag of the Republic of China.svg
  2012 16 January 2016 2020  
  2012
2020  
Turnout66.27% (Decrease2.svg8.11pp)
  Cai Ying Wen Guan Fang Yuan Shou Xiao Xiang Zhao  (cropped).png Eric Chu Chopped 2017.png James Soong election infobox.jpg
Nominee Tsai Ing-wen Eric Chu James Soong
Party DPP Kuomintang People First
Running mate Chen Chien-jen Wang Ju-hsuan Hsu Hsin-ying
Popular vote6,894,7443,813,3651,576,861
Percentage56.12%31.04%12.84%

President before election

Ma Ying-jeou
Kuomintang

Elected President

Tsai Ing-wen
DPP

  2012
2020  

All 113 seats in the Legislative Yuan
57 seats needed for a majority
Turnout66.25% (Decrease2.svg 8.08 pp, party-list)
66.34% (Decrease2.svg 8.13 pp, constituency)
PartyLeader%Seats+/–
DPP Tsai Ing-wen 44.0668+28
Kuomintang Eric Chu 26.9135−29
People First James Soong 6.5230
NPP Huang Kuo-chang 6.115New
NPSU Lin Pin-kuan 0.641−1
Independent 10
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
President of the Legislative Yuan beforePresident of the Legislative Yuan after
Wang Jin-pyng
Kuomintang
Su Jia-chyuan
DPP

General elections were held in Taiwan , officially the Republic of China, on Saturday, 16 January 2016 to elect the 14th President and Vice President of the Republic of China, and all 113 members of the ninth Legislative Yuan: [1]

Contents

Presidential election

The president and vice president election [2] was held in Taiwan on 16 January 2016. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Tsai Ing-wen with her independent running mate Chen Chien-jen won over Eric Chu of the Kuomintang (KMT) and James Soong of the People First Party (PFP). Tsai became the first female president in Taiwan, as well as the Chinese-speaking world. [3]

A second-time presidential candidate, Tsai secured the DPP's nomination uncontested as early as February 2015, while KMT candidate Hung Hsiu-chu, who won the party's nomination in July 2015, was trailing behind Tsai by double digits. [4] Alarmed by Hung's perceived pro-Beijing stance, the KMT held an extraordinary party congress to nullify Hung's candidacy in a controversial move, and replaced her by the party chairman Eric Chu, less than a hundred days before the general election. [5] However, Chu did not fare much better than Hung in the polls, and it was almost certain that Tsai was going to win weeks before the election. Veteran politician James Soong also announced his presidential campaign for the fourth time, making the election a three-way contest.

Some 12 million voters, 66% of the total registered voters, cast their votes, the lowest turnout since the office was first directly elected in 1996. [6] Tsai won 6.89 million votes, leading Chu who received 3.81 million votes by 3.08 million votes, becoming the second highest winning margin behind first direct presidential election in 1996. [7] She also won with 56.1%, the second-largest vote share claimed by a presidential candidate since Ma Ying-jeou in the 2008 election. It was the second time the DPP won the presidency since Chen Shui-bian won in 2000. The DPP also won the Legislative Yuan election on the same day, which secured a DPP majority in the legislature.

Legislative election

The Legislative Yuan election was held on 16 January 2016 for all 113 seats to the Legislative Yuan in Taiwan. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) led by Tsai Ing-wen, who also won the presidential election on the same day, secured a majority for the first time in history by winning 68 seats. The ruling Kuomintang (KMT), lost both the presidency and the legislature, returned to the opposition.

The DPP managed to unseat the KMT in its traditional blue strongholds across Taiwan, turning districts in Taipei, Taichung and Hualien green, while KMT Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin conceding defeat to relatively unknown city councillor Tsai Shih-ying from the DPP, becoming one of its biggest loses in the election. The year-old New Power Party (NPP) founded by young activists which emerged from the 2014 Sunflower Movement also fared well to win five seats by defeating some of the KMT veterans. [8]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">People First Party (Taiwan)</span> Political party in Republic of China (Taiwan)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Soong</span> Chairman of People First Party, former Governor of Taiwan Province

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2000 Taiwanese presidential election</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Taiwanese presidential election</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Chu</span> Taiwanese politician

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hung Hsiu-chu</span> Politician from Taiwan

Hung Hsiu-chu is a Taiwanese politician. As a member of the Kuomintang (KMT), she has served the party as a Deputy Chairperson and Deputy Secretary-General. Hung was first elected to the legislature in 1990, and was the Vice President of the Legislative Yuan from 2012 to 2016, her eighth term. She became the first female deputy speaker of the Legislative Yuan. She became the Kuomintang's first elected chairwoman later that year, serving until June 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Taiwanese presidential election</span>

Presidential elections were held in Taiwan on 16 January 2016. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Tsai Ing-wen with her independent running mate Chen Chien-jen won over Eric Chu of the Kuomintang (KMT) and James Soong of the People First Party (PFP). Tsai became the first female president in Taiwan, as well as in the Chinese-speaking world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Taiwanese legislative election</span>

Legislative elections were held in Taiwan on 16 January 2016 to elect all 113 members in the Legislative Yuan, alongside presidential elections. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) led by Tsai Ing-wen, who also won the presidential election on the same day, secured a majority for the first time in history by winning 68 seats. The ruling Kuomintang (KMT) lost both the presidency and its legislative majority and returned to the opposition.

Apollo Chen, also known as Chen Shei-saint is a Taiwanese journalist and politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuan Yi-kang</span> Taiwanese politician

Tuan Yi-kang is a Taiwanese politician. A former leader of the Democratic Progressive Party's now-abolished New Tide faction, he has served on the party's Central Standing Committee, the Taipei City Council and the Legislative Yuan.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Taiwanese presidential election</span>

Presidential elections were held in Taiwan on 11 January 2020 alongside Legislative Yuan election. Incumbent president Tsai Ing-wen and former premier Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won the election, defeating Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu of the Kuomintang (KMT) and his running mate Chang San-cheng, as well as third-party candidate James Soong.

References

  1. "Presidential, legislative elections set for Jan. 16, 2016". focustaiwan.tw. The Central News Agency. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  2. "14th Presidential and Vice Presidential Election". Central Election Commission.
  3. "Tsai Faces Three Major Challenges". CommonWealth Magazine. 2016-01-22.
  4. Tiezzi, Shannon (October 8, 2015). "Taiwan's KMT Moves to Replace Its Presidential Candidate". The Diplomat.
  5. "Dumped and replaced: Eric Chu to lead ticket after Taiwan's ruling Nationalist Party kicks out unpopular Hung Hsiu-chu". South China Morning Post. 17 October 2015.
  6. Tai, Ya-chen; Chen, Chun-hua; Huang, Frances (17 January 2016). "Turnout in presidential race lowest in history". Central News Agency. Archived from the original on 19 January 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2016. Alt URL
  7. "ELECTIONS: Chu concedes, resigns as KMT chair". Taipei Times. 2016-01-17.
  8. "Historic change as KMT loses long-held Parliament majority". The Straits Times. 2016-01-17.