Voters queue for up to an hour to take part in 'civil referendum'
People queue for an hour to cast ballots after online problems but many are pleased with chance to give views on constitutional reform
"Is this the end of the queue?" That was the question asked by many who tried to vote in Occupy Central's "civil referendum" on constitutional reform yesterday.
Hundreds of people wanting to cast their ballots formed a long line in Victoria Park, Causeway Bay, which at one point stretched half a kilometre. Some were there because of problems with an online voting system, including a smartphone application that was overwhelmed for a time by the volume of people trying to use it.
"I am still very happy to see the long, long queue - that reflects Hongkongers' determination to press for universal suffrage," said one man who had travelled from Tuen Mun.
The "civil referendum" was conducted by opinion pollsters and asked participants three questions: whether the nominating committee to pick candidates for Hong Kong's chief executive should be made "more representative"; whether there should be "pre-screening" for candidates; and whether the public should be given the right to nominate candidates.
A total of 62,169 people participated. A majority of them, 40,234, managed to vote through the mobile phone application, and 19,164 via the organisers' website. The remaining 2,771 voted in person at the Victoria Park polling station.
Staff from Hong Kong University's public opinion programme held up signs in Victoria Park to inform people of the waiting time - from 30 minutes to an hour - while some tried to assist people to vote online via smartphones.
