There has been a record low turnout for Hong Kong's general legislative election, with Pro-Beijing candidates sweeping the seats under the overhauled 'patriots'-only rules and amid a crackdown on freedoms by China.
Officials empty a ballot box following the Legislative Council General Election in Hong Kong. Photo: AFP/ Anadolu Agency
The election and new rules have been labelled 'regressive' by some critics.
The turnout of 30.2 percent was almost half that of the previous legislative poll in 2016, and almost all seats have been taken by pro-Beijing and pro-establishment candidates.
Some of these candidates cheered on stage at the central vote counting centre and chanted "guaranteed win".
Starry Lee, head of the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong party (DAB), dismissed criticism her party lacked a public mandate.
The electoral revamp to ensure only "patriots" administer the city would improve governance, she stressed.
"I do not believe this [the low turnout] is directly related to citizens not agreeing with this electoral system. I believe it needs some time for people to get adapted to this system," she told reporters at the vote counting centre.
Most of the dozen or so candidates, who called themselves moderates failed, to gain a seat - among them, former democratic lawmaker Frederick Fung.
"I only say that the situation in the present day, it's not easy to push people. I think they are feeling indifferent in the present situation," he told Reuters.
The previous record low for a legislative election held after the city's return from British to Chinese rule was 43.6 percent, in 2000. Results for some seats are still pending.
The election - in which only candidates screened by the government as "patriots" could run - has been criticised by some activists, foreign governments and rights groups as regressive, while mainstream pro-democracy parties are not participating.
Turnout is a central issue, as observers consider it a barometer of legitimacy in an election where pro-democracy candidates are largely absent, and a crackdown under a China-imposed national security law has jailed scores of democrats who had originally wanted to run, and forced others into exile.
Under the electoral shake-up, the proportion of directly elected seats was reduced from around half to less than a quarter, or 20 seats.
Forty seats were selected by a committee stacked with Beijing loyalists, while the remaining 30 were filled by professional and business sectors such as finance and engineering, known as functional constituencies.
While some observers say the low turnout could undermine the new legislature's legitimacy, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said in a statement that the 1.3 million or so ballots cast were a "show of support for the improved electoral system."
-Reuters