Hong Kong polls see record low turnout

Hong Kong registered a record low 30% voter turnout in the first legislative council (LegCo) poll held under new rules imposed by China, the city's top election official announced early Monday.

Barnabas Fung said only 1,350,680 of the 4,472,863 registered voters cast their ballots for city lawmakers — marking the lowest turnout in three decades.

Candidates loyal to Beijing won a majority of the seats after the laws were changed to ensure that only "patriots'' could run the city.

What Hong Kong officials said about the vote

Despite the low numbers, however, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said the vote was valid.

"But 1.35 million coming out to vote — it cannot be said that it was not an ... election that did not get a lot of support from citizens," Lam told a news conference.

"Hong Kong is now back on the right track of 'one country, two systems,'" she told reporters, citing the model under which China grants the city some autonomy from the mainland.

Lam added that the new rules meant "anti-China" elements were now excluded, which would lead to the restoration of political stability.

Following the elections, Lam is heading to Beijing for a three-day visit to brief Chinese leaders on the economic, social and political situation in Hong Kong.

Activists accused over alleged boycott calls

Polling booths were heavily guarded by the police. Around 10,000 police officers were deployed to make sure elections went smoothly, Raymond Siu, the chief of the police department, said.

To encourage people to vote, Hong Kong authorities offered free public transport and even sent out reminder messages on Saturday.

The message read: "Casting your vote for HK_our Home! LegCo election is important to you and HK's future!"

In Hong Kong, it is not illegal to refrain from voting or cast blank ballots. From this year, however, it is considered a serious crime to incite others to a boycott or urge them to cast invalid ballots.

Hong Kong officials on Saturday issued warrants accusing five overseas activists of calling for a boycott of Sunday's legislative poll.

The elections were originally meant to take place in September last year, but were then postponed, with authorities citing public health risks because of the spread of coronavirus infections.

Critics and pro-democracy supporters slammed the decision, accusing the government of using the outbreak as an excuse to delay the vote.

Why were the elections controversial?

People of the city were voting only for candidates who had been vetted for their political views and "patriotism." Only 20 out of 90 candidates are elected directly.

The changes were introduced and imposed by China earlier this March. They were then approved by Hong Kong's lawmakers in June.

The largest chunk of seats, 40, are picked by a committee of 1,500 loyalists. The remaining 30 are chosen by reliably pro-Beijing committees that represent special-interest and industry groups.

China's ruling Communist Party reduced the number of directly elected representatives to Hong Kong's legislative body from 35 to 20, but increased the size of the legislature from 70 to 90 seats.

Beijing also increased its own leverage on power by increasing the number of election committee members from 300 to 1,500. The election committee is responsible for choosing Hong Kong's chief executive and many of the members of LegCo.

The election changes came after massive pro-democracy protests of 2019, where thousands of people in Hong Kong took to the streets to protest against China's encroachment on the city's autonomy.

tj/rt( Reuters, dpa, AP)