William Lai Ching-te has been declared the winner of the Taiwan presidential election.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate defeated Hou Yu-ih of the conservative Kuomintang (KMT) and Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People’s Party to win the poll on Saturday.
According to results from Taiwan’s central election committee, Lai Ching-te won the election with 41 percent of the popular vote, while his two main rivals trailed with 33 percent and 26 percent, respectively.
Results from only 98 percent of polling stations across the country were revealed when the victory was given, and opponents conceded defeat.
Speaking on his victory, Lai Ching-te expressed gratitude to Taiwanese 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 and Taiwan will continue to walk side by side with democracies from around the world.”
Lai Ching-te, the vice president in the incumbent administration, had promised to continue DPP’s push for Taiwan as a de facto independent state from China, and the manifesto resonated with most of the country’s citizens.
In the buildup to the election, China had warned Taiwan’s voters to “make the right choice” and “recognize the extreme danger of Lai Ching-te’s triggering of cross-strait confrontation and conflict.”
Although Taiwan had gained de facto independence since the 1940s, China still claims the island and its outlying territories.
Beijing has failed to rule out the use of force to exert its influence on the island nation.
Lai Ching-te’s victory is the third consecutive term for DPP as the leading party in Taiwan. Tsai Ing-wen won the initial two elections for the party but could not participate in Saturday’s poll due to term limits.