Clashes break out shortly before polls close in New Territories East by-election, with turnout down on 2012 figures
Civic Party candidate says pan-democrats’ situation is grim, while DAB hopeful says poll is a choice between ‘whether to build Hong Kong or destroy it’
Clashes broke out during campaigning in the Legislative Council New Territories East by-election, for which voting ended at 10.30pm.
A total of 430,000 people voted in the by-election, representing a turnout rate of 46.1 per cent, lower than the 53.9 per cent in the 2012 Legco election.
At about 7pm, a 30-minute scuffle between pedestrians and supporters of Civic Party candidate Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu outside Tai Wai MTR station prompted police to threaten to use pepper spray at least twice as a warning.
Some onlookers complained that they were beaten without reason during the chaos.
Another incident happened in Sheung Shui MTR station at about 9.15pm. About 20 supporters of Yeung and Hong Kong Indigenous candidate Edward Leung Tin-kei were involved in a clash. At least one helper from Leung’s camp was reportedly hit and sustained a wound to his eye. Officers stepped in and separated the two parties.
Meanwhile, the two front-runners in Sunday’s poll made a final appeal for residents to cast their ballots before polling ended. One said a lower turnout rate had left the poll in a state of emergency.
Yeung, flanked by party colleagues, NeoDemocrat lawmaker Gary Fan Kwok-wai and Lam Cheuk-ting of the Democratic Party, made a last-minute attempt to canvass votes outside Hang Hau MTR station and said he remained “cautious” regarding the election result.