Update | Taiwan's Premier resigns after voters punish KMT in local elections

Taiwan's ruling Kuomintang (KMT) yesterday suffered a landslide defeat in the island's biggest-ever local elections, a result analysts saw as voter payback for the failures of the mainland-friendly administration.

Of the six municipal races considered litmus tests for the 2016 presidential poll, the KMT was only able to win New Taipei City, losing not only Taoyuan, but also its key traditional strongholds in Taipei and Taichung, down from the four cities it used to control.

The setback - the worst since the KMT came to power in Taiwan in 1949 - prompted Premier Jiang Yi-huah to resign to take full responsibility for the defeat.

"The election results have showed that voters are not satisfied with the government's administration," Jiang said. He said President Ma Ying-jeou had accepted his resignation.

Hit hard by a series of protests against a services trade pact signed with Beijing, a food safety scare, missteps in education reform and worries over class and income inequality in the past year, the KMT faced a tough challenge from the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party.

Campaigning on a pledge to punish the KMT for its poor performance, the DPP, which already held the southern municipalities of Tainan and Kaohsiung, made two big gains - Taoyuan and the more important central city of Taichung.