Taiwanese voters rejected a bid to oust about one-fifth of their lawmakers, all from the opposition Nationalist Party, in a recall election Saturday, dampening hopes for the ruling party to flip the balance of power in the self-ruled island’s legislature.

Taiwanese voters overwhelmingly rejected an unprecedented Saturday recall effort targeting the opposition Kuomintang Party, which favors better relations with China. Voters in every targeted constituency voted against recalling the KMT lawmakers,

The recall effort had pitted campaign groups against 24 opposition lawmakers who were accused of undermining Taiwan's national security and being "pro-China." The public voting process represented uncharted territory for Taiwanese politics,