Hong Kong elections: number of new registered voters falls to 419, compared with 334,000 last year
- Latest data from the Registration and Electoral Office shows sharp decline in new sign-ups
- Number of voters aged 20 or younger drops by 22 per cent in what one analyst calls sign of public disillusionment with politics
Just 419 new voters registered in Hong Kong over the past 12 months, compared with nearly 334,000 who did so last year, official data released on Sunday showed.
According to the data from the Registration and Electoral Office, 4,467,363 people signed up to vote in 2021, a gain of 419. The office held its annual registration campaign between February and May, and the increase was far lower than in previous years.
For example, 319,000 new names were added in 2019, while the number was 333,967 last year. Those gains admittedly came during election years, when residents picked district council members and were slated to choose lawmakers last September, although that poll was ultimately postponed to this December due to Covid-19 health risks.
But the latest number is still far below average. The net increase was 85,143 in 2016 and 25,984 in 2017, although it fell to 9,249 in 2018.
The new figures also showed shifts in registration across age brackets. The number of voters between the ages of 18 and 30 dropped from 740,000 last year to 695,000, a decline of 6.5 per cent, while the figure for those aged 21 to 25 fell by nearly 6 per cent, to almost 268,000.
But the sharpest decline was observed in the 18-20 age bracket, which fell 22 per cent, from 120,239 people last year to just 93,516.
Voters aged 31 to 60, who account for half of all the registrations, fell by 0.64 per cent over last year, to 2.29 million. But the bracket for those 71 or above grew by 6 per cent, to 646,189.
Among the 10 geographical constituencies, New Territories South West had the most voters, with 510,000, while Hong Kong Island West had the fewest, with 374,302.
Previously, half of the Legislative Council’s 70 members were elected through functional constituencies consisting of professional or special interest groups, while the remaining seats were decided through five geographical constituencies.
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Beijing has increased the number of lawmakers to 90, but slashed the number of geographical seats to 20, while also handing the fate of 40 seats to the Election Committee dominated by 1,500 pro-establishment figures, and which was previously tasked with only deciding the chief executive. The committee held a poll for its members last week and only one candidate not aligned with the pro-establishment camp was successful.
The functional constituencies currently have 219,000 registered voters, compared with 250,452 last year. The decrease is partly due to the fact that some constituencies previously returned by individual voters will now be decided by corporate voters, which officials claim is more representative.
Seats in nine of the 28 functional constituencies will be decided by individuals, with the education sector the biggest among them, with 85,000 voters.
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But in the technology and innovation sector, previously known as information technology, the number of voters fell sharply from 13,000 last year to just 54.
Political scientist Ivan Choy Chi-keung of Chinese University said he believed the lack of incentive to vote could be behind the decrease in young registered voters.
“For many, their preferred political candidates have been disqualified or their parties dissolved in the past few months,” he said.
“In the past, almost 80 to 90 per cent of those aged between 18 and 30 voted for democrats. If they can foresee that the democrats may not be allowed to run in elections, they may not have a strong incentive to register.”
Choy also attributed the rise in the number of elderly voters to the city’s ageing population.
Earlier on Sunday, Hong Kong’s Democratic Party ended a special meeting with no decision on whether to contest the Legco poll.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said in August questioned the purpose of political parties that did not take part in elections.
Political analyst Derek Yuen Mi-chang, who previously taught at the University of Hong Kong, echoed Choy’s views and argued the number for younger voters could decline even more in the long run.
“This year, there might be some [democratic] candidates – it could just be a few of them or none,” he said. “But later on … if all of [the candidates] are pro-Beijing people, it simply turns voters off.”
