Hong Kong elections: traditional opposition parties, localists face off as more than 610,000 residents cast primary ballots
- Primary a ‘battle of different approaches,’ one candidate says, as some voters seek more confrontational approach, while others see room to negotiate
- Turnout concerns prove unwarranted as queues of hundreds form at polling stations in some city neighbourhoods
Hong Kong’s traditional opposition parties made an “emergency appeal” to voters on Sunday amid fierce competition from localist challengers in a weekend primary that saw more than 610,000 residents cast ballots to determine tickets for September’s Legislative Council elections.
According to the organisers, a total of 592,211 votes were cast via mobile app and about 21,000 paper ballots were cast in the two-day primary election.
The figure, which far exceeded the original target of 170,000, represented more than 13.8 per cent of registered voters.
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More than 610,000 vote in Hong Kong’s pro-democracy opposition primary elections
University of Hong Kong law scholar Benny Tai Yiu-ting, who spearheaded the primary exercise, said: “Hong Kong people have worked a miracle.”