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Hong Kong voters largely avoided Beijing-imposed “patriots only” elections on Sunday, dealing a blow to official efforts to legitimize China’s vision for governing the territory.
A record low 27.5 percent of the city’s 4.3 million electorate cast their ballots despite officials extending voting by 1.5 hours, citing a glitch in the electronic system.
The final turnout in the last district elections in 2019, when opposition candidates won with an overwhelming majority, was 71.2 percent. The previous record low turnout was 30.3 percent in 1988.
Local officials had made exhaustive efforts to convince citizens to vote under an electoral regime that effectively excluded opposition candidates from office. The turnout was seen as a key test of the government’s ability to demonstrate public support for the political order imposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Many democracy advocates have rejected the polls after the number of directly elected district councilors was reduced to less than 20 percent of the 470 seats, down from 94 percent in 2019. The rest are chosen by committees or by city leader John Lee. Candidates considered disloyal to Beijing were also barred from running.
The electoral reform is part of a broader crackdown on the once-free financial center following pro-democracy protests in 2019. Many civil society groups have ceased operations, a sweeping national security law has silenced almost all dissent and most activists from the opposition are in prison or have fled the city.
“Since there is no way to express dissatisfaction in this election other than not voting, turnout is essentially being mobilized by the authorities,” said John Burns, professor emeritus at the University of Hong Kong.
Police said they had arrested three pro-democracy activists on suspicion of “attempting to incite others” to disrupt the polls, ahead of a planned protest at a polling station where Lee was due to cast his vote. At least three others were arrested on suspicion of inciting boycotts of the elections, authorities said.
Beijing and local officials hoped a higher turnout would demonstrate public acceptance of Xi’s system of “patriots governing Hong Kong.” The government plastered the city with billboards announcing the elections and organized daytime carnivals, a nighttime drone show and a TV gala performance to mobilize voters.
The city’s magnates and businesses also joined these efforts. Raymond Kwok, chairman of Sun Hung Kai Properties, and the Lee family that controls Henderson Land Development urged staff to vote, while the Bank of East Asia and China Construction Bank (Asia) placed advertisements in newspapers to encourage participation.
Local officials have described the overhaul of district elections as completing the “final piece of the puzzle” for the all-patriot system. The first patriot-only poll for the territory’s legislature was conducted in 2021 with a 30 percent turnout, up from 58 percent in 2016.
The district councils, established in 1982 when the city was a British colony, mainly deal with municipal matters such as bus routes and street cleaning.
Many pro-Beijing parties held rallies across Hong Kong on Sunday, despite a general sense of apathy among the public.
At a polling station, Xu Xiuai, a resident in her 50s, said she was voting in the district election for the first time.
“I support those who love the country and Hong Kong,” she said. “I would choose the one who has the kindest heart.”