District Council election results shatter myth of political apathy in Hong Kong
Alice Wu says both the voter turnout and the winners’ roll show clearly Hongkongers care about how politics is conducted, and did not overreact to sloganeering and divisive tactics
Electioneering for last week’s district council elections was dull, but the results were spectacular.
Voter turnout, at 47 per cent, was unprecedented for elections at the district level. Despite the lack of an “election atmosphere”, voters came out on their own volition, turning conventional wisdom – that pro-establishment candidates would be at a disadvantage with a high turnout – on its head.
Was it the citywide verdict on the Occupy movement as some have suggested? No
It simply wasn’t true. In terms of the percentage of votes received, a fall of 1.36 per cent cannot be called a setback. The pro-democracy camp’s 1 per cent increase is equally insignificant.
With more voters heading to the polling stations, the pro-establishment camp actually fared quite well. The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong – the city’s largest political party – fielded fewer candidates this year. It might have lost a number of seats (from 136 in 2011 to 119), but it garnered more votes.
Others, considered to be more moderate within the pro-establishment camp, made gains. For the New People’s Party, its gain is a testament to its growth and maturity as a party.
READ MORE: When more votes mean defeat: How these Hong Kong district council veterans lost their constituents
