Electoral system confuses voters, critics say
Let's return to the head-to-head challenges of the 1990s, says re-elected lawmaker Ronny Tong
Re-elected legislators and academics are calling for a review of the proportional representation system, which critics say has encouraged a vocal minority and confused voters.
This year, after five seats were added to the geographical constituencies, attracting 216 candidates - 21 individuals and 46 tickets - eight candidates won with less than 8 per cent.
The lowest tally was that of the NeoDemocrats Gary Fan Kwok-wai, who won the ninth and final seat in a 19-slate tussle in New Territories East with 28,600 votes, or 6.2 per cent of the total.
Large numbers of candidates are fielded because under the proportional representation system, parties are tempted to split votes between multiple slates in the same constituency.
Under the system, parties were supposed to put forward a slate of candidates seeking to have their first choice elected by meeting a quota, calculated by dividing the number of votes cast by the number of seats available. They then hope to have enough extra votes for their second-ranked candidate to be elected.
But as most of the winning candidates never reach the quota, splitting the vote between slates has appeared more effective. The Democrats succeeded with such a strategy in 2008, and the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong succeeded this time.