Former Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu, a member of the opposition KMT, stepped down on Friday after being recalled in a vote that saw nearly 940,000 residents vote in favor of removing him from office. That was well above the threshold of 575,000 votes required for his ouster. It was also 46,000 votes more than he received in the 2018 mayoral race that got him into office in the first place. Only about 25,000 voters voted against recalling the mayor.

Han has said that the recall vote was unjust. He accused the ruling Democratic Progressive Party of mobilizing government resources to remove him from office and said that he was the target of slander for nearly two years.

But while Han was strongly critical of the recall campaign, he said he respects the will of the people and that he will not file a lawsuit to dispute the results of the vote. Han also said his stepping down has nothing to do with the KMT. Instead, he said that the main reason for his ouster was dissatisfaction with his administration’s performance. Han even discouraged his supporters from taking to the streets in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei  on Saturday to rally in support for him.

According to the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act, Han will now be barred from running again for Kaohsiung mayor over the next four years. The Cabinet has already appointed an acting mayor, and the city will hold a by-election by September 12.