Democratic Party chairman Lee Wing-tat said while it was unlikely the election result would prompt Beijing to immediately drop its opposition to the introduction of universal suffrage by 2012, it could lead to a rethink of its Hong Kong policy.

'Beijing will have to consider what good it will do to Donald's re-election bid if all he can say about universal suffrage is repeating Beijing's muddled lines without promising real progress,' Mr Lee said.

'His credibility and ability to govern would be affected so much, and the public would become more unhappy. He can surely win the seat, but will never get heartfelt support from the middle-class professionals who are the key to social harmony.'

Party colleague Yeung Sum said the public had expressed a 'clear and loud message' to Beijing.

'The central government must realise this profound change in people's attitude, that despite knowing it is a hopeless battle, they will come out again and again whenever there is a chance to make their voice heard,' he said.

A source close to Mr Tsang said the chief executive and his administration would try to persuade Beijing to accept public aspirations for a contested election and democracy, such as more participation in the 2012 elections for the chief executive and Legislative Council.

'It is hopeless to expect universal suffrage in 2012, but it may be possible to fight for more liberal proposals for the chief executive election under the newest political situation,' the source said.

Chinese University political scientist Ma Ngok said the logical path for Beijing to follow would be to relax its grips on the pace of democratisation because Sunday's vote showed that middle-class voters were dissatisfied.

'But what we think logical might not be the case for Beijing,' he said.

Beijing loyalists said the results reflected the importance the public accorded the contest.

Ip Kwok-him, vice-chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said 111 candidates from the party were elected - an increase of four over the previous election.

Asked if the pan-democratic camp's success showed the Beijing loyalists' efforts at co-ordination had failed, Mr Ip said both camps had their own strongholds.

'We shouldn't neglect the fact that the few sectors that pan-democrats have run candidates in are the few in which the camp has power,' he said.

Liberal Party chairman James Tien Pei-chun, whose party and allies won more than 100 seats, said it was apparent that challenger Alan Leong Kah-kit could get more than 100 nominations.

He said the Liberals would make their decision on who to support depending on their platforms and public support.