TAIPEI: Taiwanese voters rejected an attempt to oust 24 opposition lawmakers on Saturday, an official tally showed, dealing a blow to President Lai Ching-te`s party and its hopesfortakingcontrolof parliament.

Civic groups backed by Lai`s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) had sought to unseat 24 lawmakers belonging to the main opposition Kuomintang party, who they accuse of being in cahoots with China.

The KMT, which advocates closer ties with Beijing, controls parliament with the help of the Taiwan People`s Party (TPP) and has slammed the unprecedented recall effort as a DPP power grab. A few hours after polling stations closed across Taiwan, the Central Election Commission`s official vote count showed none of the recalls had succeeded.

Recall elections for another seven KMT lawmakers will be held on August 23. But the DPP needed a minimum of 12KMT lawmakers recalled to gain temporary control of the parliament. `Let this political farce end here,` KMT chairman Eric Chu told reporters.

`No one can lose an election and then engage in a vicious recall,` he said, calling on Lai to `sincerely apologise` and `stop thinking about political infighting`. DPP Secretary General Lin Yu-chang said the party `humbly` accepts the results.

Insisting the election could not be `reduced to victory or defeat between political parties`, Lin said the DPP would `reflect more prudently on the society`s response`.

Public opinion has been split over the recalls, a legal process that allows voters to oust elected officials before the end of their term.

The campaign targeting KMT lawmakers has dominated politics, newspaper headlines and social media feeds for months. A KMT bid to recall DPP lawmakers failed to meet the legal threshold.-AFP