Big guns join in as Civic Party and Liberals face off
From early morning till dusk, the candidates rarely strayed from the polling station entrance. Meals were skipped and washroom breaks avoided until absolutely necessary.
As Liberal Party chairman James Tien Pei-chun had predicted, The Peak constituency was the scene of all-out war between his party and the Civic Party.
The tension between the contestants, the emergency calls to mobilise voters and the attention paid by tycoons, officials and politicians were all proof that this district epitomised the clash between pan-democrats and Beijing-friendly forces.
Tanya Chan Shuk-chong, of the Civic Party, was going head to head with incumbent Mark Lin Man-kit of the Liberal Party, with independent Louis Leung Wing-on also running.
The constituency's two polling stations were early calling points for top guns of both camps. Anson Chan Fang On-sang dropped in on Ms Chan at 8.30am, while Mr Lin received Mr Tien and Liberal Party vice-chairwoman Selina Chow Liang Shuk-yee at 9am, although Mrs Chow had to delay her vote because she had forgotten her identity card.
Being the main battleground for the Civic Party - taking part in a direct election for the first time - party leaders started to panic after lunch when the expected support failed to show.