If the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) fails to retain its existing territory in the coming mayoral elections in five special municipalities in Taiwan, 'it means the party has lost the battle, 'the party's secretary-general said in a newspaper interview published Friday. And if the party loses, he is the person who 'should shoulder the whole responsibility, ' King Pu-tsung said in the interview carried by the Chinese- language United Daily News (UDN). The KMT now controls Taipei City and Taipei County which will be upgraded into a municipality after the Nov. 27 elections and renamed Xinbei City, as well as Taichung City and Taichung County, both of which will be integrated into a municipality following the elections. King explained that in the upcoming elections, 'both political and practical responsibilities fall on the shoulders of the party secretary-general.' 'From start to finish, from nominating (candidates) to handling campaign affairs, it has been me who should be held accountable for defeat or victory, ' King said. This is because the position of the secretary-general of a political party is like that of a company CEO, who is responsible for the company's success or failure, he said. He added the party's chairman, President Ma Ying-jeou, has not involved himself in campaign affairs for these elections. King also said in the interview that the percentage of votes garnered for KMT candidates in the elections is less important than the number of mayorships the party wins. King also criticized his opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) counterpart, Wu Nai-jen, accusing him of making inconsistent remarks about the political responsibility of DPP Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen, who is also the candidate for the mayorship of Xinbei City. Wu said that if Tsai fails to win, she should step down, but said later that the chairmanship should be changed only if the DPP as a whole does not secure victory. According to Wu, the DPP will need to take at least three cities before it can claim success. Asked to comment on the issue, Tsai replied that 'of course the more we win, the better.' However, she did not clearly answer the question of whether or not she will step down if the DPP only gets two seats, saying only that 'it is an option worthy of consideration, 'the UDN reported. The DPP currently controls Kaohsiung City, Kaohsiung County, Tainan City and Tainan County. Kaohsiung County will merge with Kaohsiung City while Tainan city and county will be integrated into a special municipality after the elections. The municipal elections, considered a precursor for the 2012 presidential election, will take place in Taipei, Xinbei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung cities. 