TAIPEI, April 19 -- Sean Lien, son of former Kuomintang (KMT) chairman Lien Chan, on Saturday won the KMT's primary to represent the party in the Taipei mayor race in November.

The 44-year-old member of the KMT central committee won over lawmaker Ting Shou-chung and Taipei city councilor Chung Hsiao-ping, while another rival, lawmaker Tsai Cheng-yuan, withdrew from the race on Thursday.

Lien has led in both the opinion poll (70 percent) and voting result (30 percent) of the primary, the KMT's Taipei branch announced on Saturday evening.

Speaking to reporters following the victory, Lien highlighted the solidarity of the KMT as he said the party was facing the most difficult time since 2000.

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has not yet decided on its candidate, while Lien is also expected to face physician Ko Wen-je, a hopeful independent runner in the mayoral race.

The Taipei mayor election is part of the "seven-in-one" elections that will elect Taiwan's local-level civil servants including mayors, county heads and local lawmakers.

Scheduled to begin on Nov. 29, the election will be the first in Taiwan's history in which all its localities have participated, and thus will be the largest election the island has seen.