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Hong Kong district council election: can the ‘patriotic’ winners deliver on Beijing’s expectations and be an effective bridge between government and people?
- Councillors’ performance will affect people’s confidence in an electoral system overhauled at the behest of the central government, observers say
- Beijing’s top office overseeing Hong Kong affairs has laid down five expectations for those elected
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The dozens of patriots who won in Hong Kong’s municipal election that saw a record-low turnout are about to embark on a bumpy road to bridge the people and the government amid the city’s continuing political polarisation and voter apathy, according to observers.
They warned that their performance in the 18 district councils starting next year would not only shape the internal dynamics of the pro-Beijing camp, but also affect people’s confidence in an electoral system overhauled at the behest of the central government.
After a technical glitch that led to voting being extended by 1½ hours, the poll finished at midnight with 1,193,193 people – or 27.54 per cent of registered electors – having cast a vote.
Sunday’s poll registered the lowest turnout by a sizeable margin since Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule in 1997, with the previous low standing at 35.8 per cent in 1999. The figure in the last poll held at the height of anti-government protests in 2019 was 71.2 per cent.
While hailing the poll as signifying “the last mile” of the electoral revamp that aimed to improve governance, beginning with reform of the Legislative Council in 2021 and the district councils this time, Beijing’s top office overseeing Hong Kong affairs laid down five expectations for those elected.
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