Hong Kongers formed long lines outside polling stations across the territory Sunday, as voters participated in what is widely seen as a de facto referendum on recent pro-democracy protests.
The district council election is the first chance for Hong Kongers to vote since a wave of anti-government protests erupted in June. The ensuing clashes between police and protesters have divided Hong Kong society.
Outside some polling stations early Sunday, voters formed lines that snaked along sidewalks for entire city blocks. Three hours into the voting, more than 17% of the electorate had voted, according to government data, easily beating the 7% that had turned out by that point during the previous local election in 2015.
“The district councils have been dominated by the pro-establishment for years. We want to have more democrats to be elected to the district councils,” Ms. Kwok, a voter in the South Horizons West constituency, said.
“This election is part of the protest movement,” said Mr. Ma, another voter. “It’s a way to show whether the Hong Kong people support democratic or conservative pro-establishment candidates. Many would like to have a change. So this election is very important.”
The territory is on edge following days of intense clashes between police and groups of mostly student protesters, though the violence has subsided in the past few days.
Police promised a heavy security presence at voting locations but there was no visible police presence outside many polling stations.
District councils
Hong Kongers are choosing more than 400 members of 18 district councils scattered across the tiny territory. The district councils essentially serve as advisory bodies for local decisions such as building roads or schools.
“I think the political message is more important than anything else,” Ma Ngok, a political scientist and professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said. “If the democrats really score a landslide victory, it will show very clearly that the public is in support of the movement.”
Hong Kong has seen five months of pro-democracy protests. The protests initially took the form of massive demonstrations against a reviled extradition bill, which could have resulted in Hong Kongers being tried in China’s politicized court system.
The protests have escalated in recent weeks, with smaller groups of hardcore protesters destroying public infrastructure, defacing symbols of state power and clashing with police. Protesters defend the moves as an appropriate reaction to police violence and the government’s refusal to meet their demands.
Despite the protester violence, polls suggest the movement still has widespread public support. Meanwhile, the approval of Hong Kong’s Beijing-friendly chief executive, Carrie Lam, has fallen to a record low of about 20%.
Quasi-democratic system
Under Hong Kong’s quasi-democratic system, district councils have no power to pass legislation. However, the vote could affect how the territory’s more influential Legislative Council and chief executive are selected in the future.
“That’s a big deal,” said Emily Lau, a former Legislative Council member and prominent member of the pro-democracy camp. “Because of this constitutional linkage, it makes the significance of the district council much bigger than its powers show you.”
The pro-democracy camp has tried to use the protests as a mobilizing force ahead of the vote, and is fielding an unprecedented number of candidates.
They have a lot of ground to make up. Pro-government forces make up the majority in all 18 district councils, with the so-called “pan-democrats” taking up only about 25% of the overall seats, Ma said.
Hong Kong has seen a major surge in voter registrations, particularly among young people. Nearly 386,000 people have registered to vote in the past year — the most since at least 2003 — according to the South China Morning Post.
Many Hong Kongers are concerned about what they see as an erosion of the “one country, two systems” policy that Beijing has used to govern Hong Kong since it was returned by Britain in 1997.
