Hong Kong tallies record turnout rate and record number of voters for Election Committee that picks city’s next leader
Numbers nearly double those of last time in 2011, heightening pro-democracy bloc hopes of winning more influential role in chief executive poll next March
All eyes are on whether Hong Kong’s pro-democracy camp could for the first time win an influential share of seats in the committee that would go on to pick the city’s next leader in March, with the number of voters casting their ballots on Sunday nearly double that of the last election.
At 1.40am Monday, Electoral Affairs Commission chairman Mr Justice Barnabas Fung Wah said the city notched a record turnout at 46 per cent of eligible voters and a record number of voters, with 107,000 of about 230,000 casting their ballots for 733 seats of the 1,194-member Election Committee.
Polling closed at 10.30pm Sunday.
The remaining 461 seats are either held by ex officio members or have been returned uncontested.
The turnout rate was nearly 20 percentage points higher than that of the last committee election in 2011, when the overall turnout rate was 27.6 per cent.
Fung said the top three subsectors with the highest turnout rates were “Hong Kong and Kowloon district councils” (about 95 per cent), “Heung Yee Kuk” (about 90 per cent), and “Hotel” (about 85 per cent).
The pro-democracy bloc, which bagged 205 votes in the 2011 polls, played aggressive this year by fielding 352 aspirants in 14 sectors. It aimed to take more than 300 seats, or more than a quarter, in a bid to secure a more influential role in the upcoming chief executive race.
Civic Party lawmaker Dennis Kwok, representing the legal sector, urged voters to cast their ballots on Sunday despite Leung’s withdrawal.
“If we do not vote and have our voice reflected in the Election Committee, the government could still ignore public opinion and stay with this political system,” he said, as the camp made a last-ditch effort at canvassing votes on Sunday morning.
The pan-democrats also raised serious concerns over the failure of the Hongkong Post and the Registration and Electoral Office to deliver candidates’ publicity pamphlets and even poll cards to all eligible voters ahead of the election.
Some voters of four sectors – social welfare, wholesale and retail, legal and higher education – had reported that they did not receive the election pamphlets, according to the camp, while many across the board said they did not get the poll cards.
Watch: CY Leung announces he will not seek re-election
Lawmaker Shiu Ka-chun, representing the social welfare sector, worried that it would affect the turnout as some voters might not know they could in fact participate in the polls.
“The functional constituency voters are scattered in the city and the pamphlets emerged to be the only way [for candidates] to reach them,” he said.
Shiu said the bloc would not rule out launching a legal challenge against the government for its failure to deliver the materials.
Fung said the watchdog had received 41 complaints, mainly relating to voting arrangements. Of the 41 complaints, five related to voters not receiving their poll cards.
He called on voters who had yet to receive the materials to look for information online.
Separately, Ayesha Macpherson, who convenes the pro-establishment team known as “V18 Accountants” running in the accountancy sector, was adamant that the withdrawal of Leung would not affect the group’s performance.
“We were never an advocate of the ‘Anyone But CY’ drive as it targeted a specific person and was irrational,” she said, adding that the team would choose the next leader based on six criteria, which include his or her impartiality, leadership and cabinet.
She also refused to comment on the candidates tipped to run for the top job, such as Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah, saying it was “too early”.
Additional reporting by Ng Kang-chung and Danny Mok
