Hong Kong elections: crushed pro-establishment camp counts cost of defeat as it vows to review how it gauges public mood and its relationship with government
- Among its most pressing concerns is finding work for unseated councillors and their staff
- One core member says defeat was expected, blaming it on anti-government protests caused by deep-rooted tensions between Hong Kong and mainland China
Hong Kong’s pro-establishment camp was caught off guard by its landslide defeat in the district council elections on Sunday and says it now has to face challenges such as arranging alternative jobs, reviewing how it gauges the public mood and its relationship with the embattled government.
Anti-government anger that has been boiling over nearly six months of protests left its mark in polling stations across the city on Sunday, when voters turned out in their droves to back the pan-democrats over their pro-establishment rivals.
The pro-democracy camp seized 17 out of 18 district councils, taking at least 347 of the 452 seats. All councils were previously under pro-establishment control after its candidates dominated the 2015 elections.
“Our first headache is to take care of all the unseated councillors and their staff,” said a core member of the city’s largest pro-establishment party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, who asked to stay anonymous. The party suffered a humiliating loss, winning only 21 seats out of the 181 contested, down from 117 seats.
“It means around 90 district councillor offices will close. We have to get them back on their feet, especially those youngsters working full-time in the district,” he said. “We may have to refer them to jobs and it is not easy under this economy.”