TAIPEI - Mr Han Kuo-yu, a former mayor and presidential candidate of Taiwan’s main opposition party Kuomintang (KMT), was elected as Speaker of the island’s new Parliament on Feb 1.

Taiwan’s political landscape has been dominated for decades by two parties, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the KMT.

The DPP’s Mr Lai Ching-te won January’s election to be president, but neither the DPP nor the KMT secured enough seats for a majority in the 113-seat legislature.

Mr Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) came in last in the presidential race, but his party won eight seats to emerge as kingmaker in the new Parliament.

Legislators elected Mr Han as Speaker on Feb 1 with 54 votes in a second-round election, while his DPP competitor You Si-kun won 51 votes.

KMT lawmakers cheered and gave thumbs-up as Mr Han received his certificate of election as Speaker.

None of the three candidates won the majority during the first-round vote, and the TPP’s eight members abstained after its lawmaker Huang Shan-shan failed to make it to the second round.

The vote marks a political comeback for Mr Han, who was ousted as mayor of southern Kaohsiung city in 2020, a few months after his unsuccessful bid to challenge then President Tsai Ing-wen.

Mr Han had campaigned for closer ties with China during the presidential race against Ms Tsai, who pledged to defend Taiwan’s sovereignty against threats from Beijing.

China claims the self-ruled island as its territory to be seized one day and stepped up pressure since Ms Tsai came to power.

Mr Han swept to victory in Kaohsiung’s 2018 mayoral election, but his unsuccessful presidential bid also saw his local support wane.

He became the first mayor to be voted out of office in 2020, with residents of his city feeling ignored, and his populist promises to make citizens “filthy rich” going unfulfilled. AFP