Hong Kong elections: 30.2 per cent turnout in first Legislative Council poll since Beijing overhaul

Counting of about 1.35 million ballots began at 11pm at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and was expected to last well into early Monday morning.

For 14 hours beginning at 8.30am, voting proceeded without any major incident amid a heavy police presence and under the watchful eyes of anti-fraud officers who had warned against illegal acts such as calling for a boycott of the polls or casting blank ballots.

The 30.2 per cent turnout was the lowest since Britain handed the city back to China in 1997, falling below the 43.57 per cent recorded in 2000 and the 39.1 per cent from 1991. The turnout for the Election Committee constituency was 98.5 per cent and 32.2 per cent for the functional constituencies.

The highest participation rate was 58.29 per cent, recorded in 2016.

With the main opposition snubbing a poll it claimed was aimed at clipping its wings, attention focused mainly on voter turnout as a key indicator of public acceptance of the new electoral system Beijing ordered in March to ensure only “patriots” held power.

In the run-up to Sunday, officials emphasised that turnout was not the only outcome that mattered and pointed to the diversity they said the legislature would now have with more groups, especially ones representing grass-roots interests, having a stake.