‘THIS IS THE POWER OF DEMOCRACY. THIS IS A DEMOCRATIC TSUNAMI,’ SAYS EX-STUDENT PROTEST LEADER TURNED POLITICIAN AS HONG KONG DEMOCRATS SCORE A LANDSLIDE VICTORY IN LOCAL ELECTIONS.
Massive turnout in local elections
HONG KONG • Hong Kong’s democrats romped to a landslide and symbolic majority in district council elections after residents turned out in record numbers on Sunday to vote following six months of anti-government protests in the embattled city.
In a rare weekend lull in the unrest that has roiled the financial hub, democratic candidates across the city of 7.4 million secured more than half of the 452 district council seats for the first time, against a strongly resourced and mobilized pro-establishment opposition.
When the results began trickling in after midnight, including upset wins for democrats against heavyweight pro-beijing opponents, some voting centres erupted in loud cheers and chants of “Liberate Hong Kong. Revolution Now” — a slogan of many protesters on the streets over the past half year.
Some winning candidates said the result was akin to a vote of support for the demonstrators, and could raise the heat on Hong Kong’s pro-beijing chief executive, Carrie Lam, amid the city’s worst political crisis in decades.
“This is the power of democracy. This is a democratic tsunami,” said Tommy Cheung, a former student protest leader who won a seat in the Yuen Long district close to China’s border.
The voting ended with no major disruptions in a day that saw massive, though orderly queues form outside voting centres.
As of 6 a.m. Monday, pro-democracy candidates had secured a clear majority with more than 300 of 452 seats, compared with 41 seats for the pro-establishment camp, according to local media estimates. Four years ago at the previous such polls, democrats secured only around 100 seats.
Almost three million people voted, a record turnout of more than 71 per cent that appeared to have been spurred by the turmoil, almost double the number last time.
Hong Kong’s district councils control some spending and decide a range of local livelihood issues such as transport. They also serve as an important grassroots platform to radiate political influence in the China-ruled city.
Demonstrators are angry at what they see as Chinese meddling in the freedoms promised to the former British colony when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997. They say they are also responding to perceived police brutality.
A number of pro-beijing heavyweights including Junius Ho, whose abrasive public comments have made him a hate-figure among many protesters, lost to pro-democracy challengers.