William Lai Ching-te has won the presidential election in Taiwan.
Gatekeepers News reports that the candidate from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) defeated the conservative Kuomintang (KMT) candidate Hou Yu-ih and Taiwan People’s Party candidate Ko Wen-je in the poll on Saturday.
According to results from Taiwan’s central election committee, Lai Ching-te won the election with 41% of the popular vote, while his two main rivals trailed with 33% and 26%, respectively.
The victory was declared with results from only 98% of polling stations across the country revealed, and opponents conceded defeat.
On his victory, Lai Ching-te expressed gratitude to Taiwan citizens for voting for him.
“I want to thank the Taiwanese people for writing a new chapter in our democracy. We have shown the world how much we cherish our democracy. This is our unwavering commitment,” he said.
“We are telling the international community that between democracy and authoritarianism, we will stand on the side of democracy. The Republic of China, Taiwan will continue to walk side by side with democracies from around the world.”
