Taiwan opposition KMT elects Taipei mayor as new leader
TAIPEI (AFP) - Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou has been elected as chief of the nationalist Kuomintang, which favours closer ties with China, and immediately vowed to lead Taiwan's main opposition party back to power in 2008.
"Candidate Ma Ying-jeou garnered 72.4 percent of vote share, or 375,056 votes, against Wang Jin-pyng's 27.6 percent, or 143,268 votes," said Kuomintang (KMT) secretary general Lin Feng-cheng on Saturday.
"We congratulate Ma for the victory," Lin told a press conference.
Lin described the first contested leadership in the party's 111-year history as "a milestone in Kuomintang's democratization", and called on party members to support reform-minded Ma in his efforts to return the party to power.
Ma, surrounded by supporters, immediately called for party unity and vowed to push for greater reforms.
"I will fulfil my promises made during the campaign -- to build a clean and trusted party through more reforms -- a cause I believe shared by most members," Ma told supporters.
The 55-year-old mayor, known for his integrity and strong moral sense, also said he would "create favorable conditions through further democratization to enable the Kuomintang to regain power."
Ma offered to join hands with the losing candidate, parliamentary speaker Wang, "who has strong legislative power and grassroots connections" to challenge the pro-independence ruling party in the next presidential polls.
The Kuomintang lost its 51-year grip of power on Taiwan in 2000 when Chen Shui-bian from the Democratic Progressive Party won the presidency. He was re-elected last year.
Ma ran on a platform of fighting corruption, pushing for democratic reforms and promoting harmony between the Kuomintang's factions, which embrace around one million members.
He also vowed to safeguard Taiwan's sovereignty in the face of territorial claims by Beijing, but rejected President Chen's push towards independence.
Ma succeeds Lien Chan, who twice ran unsuccessfully for president and has made clear he will retire from domestic politics in August and devote himself to improving relations with China.
"This election is significant for democratic partisan politics," Lien said earlier Saturday, referring to the fact that KMT members were directly electing their chairman for the first time.
"I hope the vitality seen in this race will expand and impact on other upcoming elections," he said outside a polling station in Taipei.
Observers said prior to the result that voters would choose whoever they thought was more capable of turning around the party's declining fortunes.
"The voters are to decide who has the power to rebuild the Kuomintang's image, shattered in the humiliating 2000 presidential election setback, and restore confidence among party supporters," said Chang Lin-cheng, a political science professor at National Taiwan University.
The immediate challenge for the new leader was to coordinate with the People First Party and the New Party, which together with the Kuomintang form the so-called Pan Blue Alliance, ahead of regional elections in December.
Some 54 percent of the KMT's 1.04 million members cast their ballots in Saturday's vote.
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