TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Former Deputy Magistrate of Lienchiang County, Wang Chung-ming (王忠銘) of the Kuomintang (KMT), won the race for county magistrate in Taiwan's least populated municipality on Saturday (Nov. 26).

Wang, 64, announced his victory after learning that he had garnered over 3,838 votes, the threshold to win, as opposed to his rivals Tsao Er-yuan (曹爾元), who was also nominated by the KMT to run, and Lii Wen (李問) representing the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

Lienchiang County is the smallest municipality in the country by population, with just over 13,000 residents and 11,810 eligible voters.

Wang, and his KMT rival Tsao, both served as civil servants in the county. Wang has served for over 10 years and garnered strong local support ahead of the election.

This year's race was the first time the DPP nominated a candidate to run for the seat, which has long been ruled by the KMT since it first held direct elections in 1993.