SHENZHEN (China): Participation in the district elections in Hong Kong on the weekend fell to a record low, reported German news agency (dpa).
According to the administration of the special administrative region of China on Monday, 27.5 per cent of eligible voters took part in Sunday’s vote. This is the lowest turnout since the city reverted to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 following more than 150 years of British colonial rule.
After massive protests in Hong Kong in the summer of 2019 calling for more democratic practices, voters in November that year installed a slate of pro-democracy candidates during district council elections as a rebuke to Beijing.
Voter turnout then hit a record of more than 71 per cent. The pro-Beijing bloc lost control of 17 of the 18 district councils.
Since then, a controversial national security law was passed in Hong Kong under pressure from Beijing, largely putting an end to mass pro-democracy protests.
The central government in Beijing also introduced significant electoral changes, allowing only candidates loyal to it to stand. In addition, the number of democratically elected mandates was drastically reduced.
This meant that only 20 per cent of district councils could still be directly elected by the people.
The government had publicised the election date with a massive advertising campaign. Authorities also warned that calls for election boycotts would be punished.–Bernama