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FIERCE competition yesterday in the Sai Kung Regional Council by-election resulted in a record 35.51 per cent voter turnout - about five per cent more than the 1991 poll.

 Counting continued at 2.45 am this morning after 16,775 voters had cast their ballots to fill the seat vacated by jailed vote-buyer Gilbert Leung Kam-ho. Voting closed at 10.30 pm   In the 1991 municipal councils election, Sai Kung fared better than other areas of the New Territories with a turnout of 31.02 per cent.

 The final result will be known this morning.

  Last night, Lam Wing-yin of the United Democrats of Hong Kong (UDHK) was heading for victory, according to an exit poll by the Social Sciences Research Centre of the Hong Kong University.

  The higher turnout was believed to be related to the active participation of political parties in the election.

  Seven candidates, four backed by political parties, joined the fray.

  The four are: UDHK member Mr Lam, Meeting Point's Wai Hing-cheung, Law Cheung-kwok of the Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood, and Cheung Hon-tin of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB).

  Also fighting the battle were independents Francis Chau Yin-ming; Wong Shui-sang, who is also a former Regional Councillor, and Wong Wah-keung, a member of the Liberal Party who contests in his personal capacity.

  Mr Lam and DAB's Mr Cheung were neck-to-neck in their fight for the seat.

  Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, senior lecturer of Public and Social Administration of City Polytechnic, said the election was a test of the political parties' strength after the three-tier elections in 1991.

  ''Because many of the candidates do not have a strong community service background in Sai Kung, many of them rely on their party prominence in the race,'' he said.

   Some parties, such as the United Democrats, mobilised some of the political heavyweights, including chairman Martin Lee Chu-ming and Szeto Wah, to canvass for votes.

  The campaign reached a climax at about 8 pm last night, when most of the candidates crowded at the polling station at Tsui Lam Estate to make their last-minute lobby for votes.

  The Sai Kung constituency has 47,244 registered voters. Just over 20,000 belong to the Po Lam and Tsui Lam districts in Junk Bay, a new town which differs greatly from the traditional rural community of Sai Kung.

  Although most contestants described the campaigning as generally fair and clean, some called for more Government efforts to refine the system.

  They hoped the new Boundary and Election Commission would formulate guidelines to guarantee the fairness of direct elections.

  Meeting Point's Mr Wai said the Government should give clearer instructions to restaurant owners and the owners' committee of residential buildings to prevent them from selectively allowing candidates into their premises.

  Mr Wai said that some Home Ownership Scheme blocks created unfair competition by allowing independents Francis Chau and Wong Shui-sang into their buildings to canvass residents' support.

  ''Not only were we barred from the residential buildings but we were also rejected from the shopping arcades and the restaurants,'' he said.

 ''Every time we tried to distribute handbills, the security officers would ask us to go,'' he said.



Record turnout in Sai Kung election