TAIPEI - Ma Ying-jeou, the incumbent Taiwan leader and chairman of the ruling Kuomintang (KMT), declared his victory in the island's leadership election Saturday evening.

Ma extended appreciation and gratitude toward his supporters at a large gathering held in the KMT headquarters in Taipei amid a heavy rain.

He attributed the victory to the policies his team has made to fight corruption and maintain peace.

Taiwan people showed their recognition of the efforts KMT has made to shelf disputes with the mainland and maintain peace across the Taiwan Strait, he said at the gathering.

The final result of ballot counting is not available yet.

At a press conference at the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) headquarters, Ma's major rival Tsai Ing-wen admitted her failure in the election and announced that she would resign from the post of DPP chairwoman.