Hong Kong: Taiwan's ruling Nationalist Party has slumped to landslide defeats in its local elections, prompting its premier to resign and delivering a major blow to leader Ma Ying-jeou, who has staked his presidency on building closer ties with Beijing.

In losses much heavier than pre-election polls had predicted, the Nationalists – also known as the Kuomintang, or KMT – lost in five of the six municipalities, including traditional strongholds Taipei, the capital, and Taichung, a major central city.

Supporters of independent opposition candidate Ko Wen-je celebrate after he won the mayoral elections for Taipei, part of a landslide defeat for Taiwan's ruling Kuomintang party. Credit:Getty Images

In all, it only clinched six out of 22 city and county seats, compared to 16 at the previous election in 2010.

Premier Jiang Yi-huah – the government's number two – resigned within hours of the close of voting as the magnitude of the losses quickly became apparent.