Hong Kong elections: Pro-Beijing candidates claim victory in LegCo election
Since China made changes to the electoral system in the city, the first Legislative Council (LegCo) election was conducted in Hong Kong.
This election saw the lowest-ever voting turnout that observers say signal a general political apathy in the city.
The changes sparked controversy among officials who said that the changes were needed to ensure stability, on the other hand, critics said they weakened democracy.
On Monday, Beijing also unveiled a statement outlining “democracy with Hong Kong characteristics”.
In a white paper released hours after election results were announced, China said Hong Kong was now entering a new stage of “restored order” as a result of these Beijing-introduced changes.
But a group of Western nations expressed “grave concern over the erosion of democratic elements” in Hong Kong’s electoral system.
“Since the handover, candidates with diverse political views have contested elections in Hong Kong. Yesterday’s election has reversed this trend,” the foreign ministers of Australia, Canada and New Zealand, the British foreign secretary and US secretary of state said in a statement. “These changes eliminated any political opposition.”
Pro-Beijing candidates will occupy nearly every seat in Hong Kong’s new legislature, after party loyalists swept the first elections under a revamp by Beijing ensuring that only “patriots” could run for office.
Only 30% of Hong Kong’s 4.4 million eligible voters went to the polls, almost half of the number who voted in the last legislative elections in 2016. Lower-level district council elections in 2019 saw 71% turnout. The record low turnout came despite pro-Beijing candidates making urgent pleas for more people to vote throughout the polling day.
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