Only candidates loyal to Beijing: Hong Kong election turnout has fallen to a record low. The Swedish king hands over the Nobel Prizes for 2023 – these are the winners

Voter turnout in Hong Kong’s district elections has fallen to a record low. As the government of China’s Special Administrative Region announced on Monday, 27.5 percent of eligible voters took part in the vote the day before. This is the lowest level since the former British crown colony was returned to China in 1997.

During a wave of protests for more democracy, the pro-government camp suffered a bitter defeat in the last district elections in 2019. With a record turnout of more than 71 percent, it lost control of 17 of the 18 district councils. Hong Kong subsequently ended the protests by introducing a strict national security law.

Extensive electoral reform was also implemented. Therefore, only candidates loyal to Beijing were allowed to participate in the district elections. Moreover, the number of democratically elected mandates was drastically reduced. This meant that 20 percent of district councilors could still be directly elected by the people.

The government had launched a massive advertising campaign to draw attention to the election date. Authorities also warned that calls for election boycotts would be severely punished.

As Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post reported, Sunday’s election was extended by 90 minutes, which the government justified with a computer glitch at polling stations. (sda/dpa)