Hong Kong heads to polls for ‘patriots only’ election widely criticised by rights groups
Elections saw low voters turn out as Beijing drastically cut number of directly elected seats
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Your support makes all the difference.Hong Kong voted on Sunday in its first legislative council election since Beijing introduced sweeping laws as voters were offered a slate of only Beijing-approved candidates.
The elections saw sluggish starts with low voter turnout at around 18.77 per cent in first seven hours after the voting began at 08:30 local time (00:30 GMT).
In a major overhaul of the city’s political system by Beijing earlier this year, officials approved a controversial "patriots" resolution to cut the representations of democratic candidates. This was to ensure that all candidates are vetted as “patriots” loyal to China’s ruling Communist Party.
The polling continued under heavy police presence as roughly 10,000 police officers were deployed across the city and polling booths to “ensure a smooth process,” according to police chief Raymond Siu.
The government sent out mass texts to the city’s 4.5 million registered voters to encourage them to take part in the elections and offered free public transport rides on Sunday.
The elections were originally scheduled to take place in September last year, but were postponed with authorities citing public health risks due to the pandemic. The decision was opposed by the pro-democracy camp, which accused the government of using the outbreak to delay the vote.
"Casting your vote for HK — our Home! LegCo Election is important to you and HK’s future!" the message read, referring to the Legislative Council.
LegCo is the short form of Legislative Council, which is a powerful body that makes laws in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam visited a polling station on Sunday morning and said she had "no particular expectation" about the turnout.
"I would say that the government has not set any target for voter turnout rate, not for this election, not for previous elections, because there is a combination of factors that will affect the voter turnout rate in any election," she said.
Despite the strict arrangement, three protesters from the League of Social Democrats staged a small demonstration across the street from the polling station, chanting "I want real universal suffrage."
The latest survey by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute found that 39 per cent of respondents indicated that they are unlikely to vote.
Hong Kongners are boycotting elections as they accuse the Chinese government of attempting to stifle democracy by introducing a slew of laws to undermine democratic rule in the city.
Last year China introduced a national security law to make it easier to punish pro-democracy protesters and reduce the city’s autonomy. It was brought following massive pro-democracy protests in 2014 and 2019.
Since then several pro-democracy figures have been jailed, convicted or have been forced to go into exile.
Additional reporting by agencies
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