Hong Kong has held three elections this year - in March, November and December. In the process, we have seen an electorate that is politically mature, sophisticated and longing for the right to choose its own government.
On March 25, 800 people re-elected Donald Tsang Yam-kuen as chief executive. This farce was greeted with nonchalance and resignation. The district council elections on November 18 dealt a devastating blow to the pro-democracy camp.
On December 2, the Legislative Council by-election was held in the Hong Kong Island constituency to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Ma Lik, the former chairman of the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong.
The seat was won by former chief secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang, who advocates electing the chief executive and all members of Legco by universal suffrage in 2012. Mrs Chan secured 175,874 votes, beating former secretary for security Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee by 38,324 votes. Mrs Chan was supported by the pan-democrats while Mrs Ip was backed by the DAB and other pro- establishment forces.
Mrs Chan's victory was a morale booster for the pan-democrats, who fielded 293 candidates in the district council elections but won only 106 seats. The victorious DAB fielded 177 candidates and won 115 seats.
Weeks before the by-election, there was concern that Mrs Chan might lose, mainly due to the DAB's ability to mobilise voters. However, there were also reports that the DAB was wary of a victory for Mrs Ip, who would become their opponent in next year's Legco election.
In the coming months, the pan-democrats will conduct reviews to ascertain what went wrong in the district council polls and to map out a strategy for the future.