Taipei (AFP) — Taiwan’s opposition lawmakers made a failed bid on Tuesday to impeach President Lai Ching-te, after the number of votes in favor of the motion fell well short of the minimum required.

Lai and his Democratic Progressive Party have been locked in a bitter conflict with the two opposition parties that control the parliament since he took office in May 2024.

Lawmakers from the Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) launched impeachment proceedings after Lai and his premier refused to sign off on a revenue-sharing bill passed by parliament.

Both sides have accused each other of violating the democratic island’s constitution.

Opposition legislators have described Lai as “dictatorial.” DPP lawmaker Wu Szu-yao said Monday the KMT and TPP “are coordinating with external hostile forces to manipulate Taiwan’s political struggles.”

Fifty-six lawmakers supported impeaching Lai and 50 were against it. The number of votes in favor was below the minimum two-thirds of the 113-seat parliament needed for the motion to succeed.

Premier Cho Jung-tai vowed Tuesday to “continue to push for reconciliation and coexistence” with the opposition parties.

But divisions remain deep. A key point of contention between Lai’s government and the opposition has been over how much to spend on defending the island against a potential attack from China.

China claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to seize it by force.

The KMT and TPP rejected the government’s proposed NT$1.25 trillion in spending on critical weapons, that included US arms and domestically procured drones and other munitions.

Instead, after months of political wrangling, the opposition parties passed a budget of NT$780 billion for US arms only.

Lai, an outspoken defender of Taiwan’s sovereignty, has accused China of being the “root cause” of instability in the region.

The KMT, which favors closer relations with China and whose chairperson Cheng Li-wun recently went to Beijing to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, blames Lai for worsening cross-strait tensions.