Hong Kong voters back pro-Beijing parties in a reversal of political fortunes that has taken pan-democrats by surprise
The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) scored a landslide victory in Sunday's polls, a reversal of fortunes that also saw the pan-democrats suffer their worst defeat in a district council election.
The Beijing-friendly DAB won 115 of the 405 elected seats in a better-than-expected comeback.
In the last polls, in 2003, the DAB won just 62 seats. Compared with the party's success rate of just 30 per cent in 2003, 65 per cent of the DAB's 177 candidates were victorious in Sunday's election, which drew 1,148,815 voters, a turnout of 38.83 per cent.
More than 90 per cent of the DAB's incumbent councillors were re-elected, while 70 per cent of those ousted in 2003 regained their seats.
In contrast, the Democratic Party secured 59 seats, 36 fewer than in 2003. Twenty-three of the party's incumbent councillors were ousted, including some veteran members. Just over half of the Democrats' 108 candidates were elected, including 14 new faces and 45 incumbents.
