Deadly Tai Po blaze affected Hong Kong Legco election voter turnout, minister says
Constitutional affairs chief Erick Tsang says city’s worst fire in decades ‘dampened enthusiasm’, leading to second-lowest rate since 1997
Voter turnout in the recent Legislative Council election was affected by Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades, recording the second-lowest rate since the city’s return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, despite a modest rise from the previous poll, the constitutional affairs chief has said.
Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai stressed on Sunday that the government had not set a “hard indicator” for the turnout rate in the December 7 Legco poll, which reached 31.9 per cent.
“I believe the fire had an impact on the election … We understand that there are different views. Some said they were not in the mood to vote amid a heavy atmosphere, while some hoped Legco could be formed as soon as possible for follow-up work and reforms to turn grief and sorrow into strength and vote enthusiastically,” Tsang told a radio show.