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The votes from southern constituencies loyal to ultra-independence candidate William Lai push the DPP over the 40% vote threshold and create a three-way stalemate with the other two Kuomintang and TPP candidates, which is also the case would have been fatal for the island's government. Lai feels victory in his pocket and arrives at the party headquarters more than an hour early, where a crowd of tens of thousands of supporters is already welcoming him into a festive atmosphere. The Democratic Progressive Party candidate is in the lead with around 65% of the vote with over 40% of the valid vote, trailing his rivals Hou Yu-ih (Kmt) and Ko Wen-je (TPP) with 33.4% and 26 respectively .5%, based on unofficial data from local media. There is confidence that the victory is always close, as the official data released by the Central Election Commission shows around half of the 17,795 seats counted: Lai with 41.9%, Hou with 33.15% and Ko with 24.95% Parliamentary and presidential elections to elect Tsai Ing-wen's successor have begun in Taiwan. 19.3 million voters are called to vote at more than 18,000 polling stations in elections that could redefine relations between Taipei and Beijing. According to initial information, voter turnout should have seen a record turnout of at least over 70%.
Voter turnout over 70%
These are the local media estimates after shares of around 45% were recorded around midday (5am in Italy) in key cities such as Hsinchu, Tainan and Taichung. Many expected turnout to be well above 70%, continuing the extraordinary trend that began in 2020 when it peaked at 74.9%, with outgoing President Tsai Ing-wen by a very large margin helped to a second term in office.
Currently, all three candidates have received over one million votes in Taiwan's presidential election.
Almost two hours after vote counting began in Taiwan's presidential election, candidate Lai Ching-te is in the lead with around 238,000 votes, 43% of the votes counted. This is evident from the data published in real time by TaiwanPlus News, which is of course still very incomplete.
Who is Lai, the leading candidate?
Lai is the island's current vice president. He is running for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and rejects China's claims to Taipei. Around 70% of those eligible to vote in an electorate of over 19 million people took part in the elections. The Kuomintang candidate Hou You-ih is currently in second place with 34%, and Ko Wen-je is in third place with 22.5%.
The positions match those published by Formosa TV in its unofficial count. About halfway through, Lai is in the lead with 40% and 3.2 million votes, followed by Hou with 32.7% (2.6 million) and Ko with 27%. (2.2 million).
Chinese military maneuvers
China has now sent eight jets and six military ships around the island, Taiwan's Defense Ministry reported. Two Chinese spy balloons were also sent across the Taiwan Strait, he added. China also blocked the hashtag “Taiwan elections” on the social media platform Weibo. Economic Times writes it. The block was placed after the hashtag became one of the most trending following the opening of polls on the island.
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