The district council election results tell us that political parties which cannot 'get out the vote' will not succeed. Let that be a warning, especially to those in the pro-democracy camp; they don't have much time to get their act together for next year's Legislative Council election. Despite the lacklustre atmosphere during the campaigning period, more people turned out to vote last Sunday than ever before. That is quite a feat. Voters were motivated to go to the ballot box.
The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong did very well. The party got almost all its candidates elected. This shows that members planned well and knew where they could mobilise their voters. This is really what elections are about. A political party's success depends on being able to mobilise its supporters when it matters. A party that cannot get members elected won't get far in the long run.
The democrats frequently complain that they have fewer resources to connect with voters and use that as the reason for their poor electoral performance. Some pro-democracy politicians and parties have been standing for election since 1991 and many have long district work records. This amount of experience should have given them an advantage when it came to information about supporter profiles and details.
That information should have been compiled, updated, analysed and reanalysed with the aim of mobilising voters. Putting together this kind of supporter information doesn't necessarily cost a lot, but it does require an excellent record-keeping system. People have to be given the task of ensuring that each party member in a particular electoral district passes on constituency data so that the party has records. These can then be used for analysis, and to plan strategies and campaigns.
In other words, the party has to be totally dedicated to this important task. Data collection and analysis must rank as a top priority in every political party. Without good information, it is not possible to get out the vote when it truly matters.
New candidates, particularly those with no party affiliation, are obviously at a disadvantage. This is where having star quality helps. But, once elected, they too must start collecting supporter information, to help them get re-elected.
Newer parties, such as the Civic Party, and old ones that have only recently started to contest direct elections in earnest - such as the Liberal Party - must invest in collecting supporter data.