Voting is under way in Taiwan's two largest cities - the capital Taipei and the southern port of Kaohsiung - to elect new mayors and local councillors.
Mayoral votes in Taiwan's two largest cities have ended, with the opposition winning in the capital Taipei but losing in the port of Kaohsiung.
The vote is seen as a crucial test for President Chen Shui-bian's governing Democratic Progressive Party.
The governing Democratic Progressive Party's candidate narrowly held on to the party's stronghold of Kaohsiung.
It follows a series of corruption scandals, resulting in his wife and aides being indicted for embezzlement.
But the opposition Kuomintang party's candidate won a huge victory in Taipei.
A BBC correspondent says the result is not the crushing blow some had expected the government to suffer. The vote was seen as a key test for the government.
Many had portrayed the elections as a public referendum on President Chen Shui-bian's administration, following a series of corruption scandals.
Mr Chen's wife and his aides were indicted for embezzlement and their trials are due to get under way next week.
The electoral campaign was tightly fought and involved national as well as local issues, according to the BBC's Caroline Gluck in Taipei.
Mayors are powerful in Taiwan, and the post in Taipei is seen as a stepping stone for presidential hopefuls.
Mayors are powerful in Taiwan, and the post in Taipei is seen as a stepping stone for presidential hopefuls.
Tight campaign
Kuomintang candidate Hau Long-bin, a former environmental minister, won the contest by a margin of more than 10%.
These are key local elections, but this time the contest has taken on added importance.
Six candidates battled for mayor in Taipei and five candidates ran for mayor in Kaohsiung.
The vote is being seen by many as a public referendum on the president's administration following a series of damaging corruption scandals.
The trials of Mr Chen's wife and his aides are due to get under way next week
And the electoral campaign has been tightly fought.
Six candidates are battling for the mayoral position in Taipei, including a former prime minister, a former head of the Environmental Protection Agency and a leader of one of Taiwan's opposition parties.
China issue
Meanwhile five candidates are running for mayor in Kaohsiung.
The southern city has traditionally been a stronghold of the governing DPP, but the party has been struggling to galvanise supporters following a series of local and national corruption scandals.
The loss of Kaohsiung to an opposition candidate would be a severe blow and could force serious splits inside the independence-leaning party as it charts its future direction ahead of presidential elections in 2008.
But the main opposition party, the KMT, which favours closer ties with China, has also faced its own problems.
Its chairman, Ma Ying-Jeou, who is currently mayor of Taipei and a likely presidential candidate for 2008, has been questioned by prosecutors for allegedly misusing a special allowance fund.
He has denied the charges but it has tarnished his squeaky-clean image.
