A total of 35 percent of respondents were satisfied with Tsai’s performance, while only 33 percent said the same about Ma.

The numbers of respondents dissatisfied with the party leaders amounted to 34 percent for Tsai and 31 percent for Ma, the paper said.

The president saw his lowest approval ratings in Southern Taiwan’s Kaohsiung and Pingtung areas, where 18 percent expressed satisfaction with his performance but 44 percent gave him a negative rating.

Ma came out better in Central and Eastern Taiwan, and was running equal with Tsai in the North, the poll said.

Tsai received 40 percent or more in the regions of Yunlin, Chiayi and Tainan. The opposition leader rated ahead of Ma with independent voters, and received even a positive rating from 29 percent of Kuomintang supporters.

Turning to political parties, 37 percent of poll respondents gave the KMT a positive rating, while 22 percent approved of the DPP’s performance.

The poll successfully interviewed 717 respondents by phone on November 10 and had a margin of error of 3.7 percent, the China Times said.

DPP lawmakers said the poll results were normal in the face of Ma’s poor performance. The president has been facing sharp criticism for allowing the import of U.S. bone-in beef, while his image was also battered in the wake of Typhoon Morakot and the economic crisis.

The poll results come as Ma is facing his first major test as KMT chairman in the December 5 local elections.