HUGE TURNOUT IN HK ELECTIONS
Lines extended for blocks on Sunday as Hong Kong citizens turned out in droves for polls seen as a test of public support for anti-gobtprotests that have persisted for more than five months.
HONG KONG: Long lines snaked around plazas and extended for blocks on Sunday as Hong Kong citizens turned out in droves for an election seen as a test of public support for anti-government protests that have persisted for more than five months.
The Electoral Affairs Commission said 56% of the city’s 4.1 million registered voters had cast ballots by 5:30pm. That exceeded the 47% turnout in the same election four years ago, with five hours still to go before polls were to close.
The normally low-key race for 452 seats in Hong Kong’s 18 district councils has taken on symbolic importance in a city polarized by the protests. A strong showing by the opposition would show that the public still supports the protesters, even as they resort to increasing violence.
Democracy activist Joshua Wong, who was barred from running in the election, voted soon after polls opened at 7:30am. Results are expected after midnight. “Even if they censor me out from the ballot, it will just encourage me to continue to fight for the future with even stronger determination,” he told reporters.
The vote for the district councils, which advise the government on issues of local concern, is the only fully democratic one in Hong Kong. Members of the legislature are chosen partly by popular vote and partly by interest groups representing different sectors of society, and the city’s leader is picked by a 1,200-member body.