Police first accused the trio of “attempting to incite others to disrupt district council elections” and later passed them to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) over suspicion of “inciting others not to vote”. Three were activists from the League of Social Democrats - one of the city’s last remaining opposition groups - which had planned to stage a protest. Police also acted swiftly to clamp down on any sign of dissent on Sunday, arresting at least six people. Over 70 percent of the candidates picked to run for the election were themselves members of the nominating committees. “From now on, the district councils would no longer be what they were in the past - which was a platform to destruct and reject the government’s administration, to promote Hong Kong independence and to endanger national security,” Lee said after he cast his ballot on Sunday.Īccording to new rules announced in May, the number of seats that could be directly elected was slashed from 462 to 88, with the other 382 seats controlled by the city leader, government loyalists and rural landlords.Ĭandidates were also required to seek nominations from three government-appointed committees, which effectively shut out all pro-democracy parties. Previously, the lowest turnout rate since the city’s handover to China was 35.82 percent, recorded in 1999.Ĭity leader John Lee had thanked the “more than 1 million” voters at around 1:45 am Monday (1745 GMT Sunday) for coming out.Īfter voting Sunday, he said this year’s election was “the last piece of the puzzle to implement the principle of patriots ruling Hong Kong”. Sunday’s voting day stretched to midnight, after a rare 90-minute extension was granted following a failure in the digital system used to confirm voters’ eligibility.ĭespite the extra time, the government’s official website was updated on Monday morning to show a final turnout of 27.54 percent, with just shy of 1.2 million out of 4.3 million registered electors having gone to the polls. The city last held district council elections at the peak of huge, sometimes violent, democracy protests in 2019, recording a historic-high 71 percent turnout that delivered a landslide victory for the democracy camp.īut a clampdown on dissent - aided by a sweeping national security law imposed by Beijing - has included a drive by authorities to weed out from public office anyone deemed politically disloyal after the protests. Hong Kong’s first “patriots only” district council elections saw a turnout of 27.5 percent, the government said Monday, a record-low number for a race that had shut out all opposition candidates. Hong Kong city leader John Lee (centre L) said this year's election was 'the last piece of the puzzle to implement the principle of patriots ruling Hong Kong' - Copyright AFP/File JULIEN DE ROSA, Jung Yeon-je

Cast of shut in daily wire