Hong Kong district council election: senior officials fan out across city and make eleventh-hour appeal to boost turnout in first ‘patriots-only’ municipal poll

City leader John Lee tours polling stations as ministers appear across city to promote first district council election since ‘patriots-only’ overhaul of governing system

Government organises string of events aimed at drumming up enthusiasm for poll, but residents divided on the effectiveness

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Hong Kong officials have pulled out all the stops to encourage residents to take part in Sunday’s district council poll. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 3:55pm, 9 Dec 2023Updated: 5:19pm, 10 Dec 2023

Senior officials fanned out across Hong Kong on Saturday to make an 11th-hour appeal to voters to cast ballots in the first “patriots-only” district council election, as residents were cautioned that any “soft resistance” attempts to smear the poll would be met with tough action.

The government’s weeks-long drive to drum up enthusiasm for the poll culminated with a concert replete with drones and fireworks that drew thousands of people. While some residents told the Post they had now decided to vote on Sunday, others were less convinced, saying the spectacle had no effect on their decision.

Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai told a TV programme aired in the morning that authorities would carefully watch for any disruptions to the poll.

“There are still some anti-China disrupters looking for opportunities to sabotage the administration’s governance and we’ve been watching out for these people,” he said. “If there are people who use soft resistance to deliberately smear, defame and spread rumours about the election, we’ll treat them seriously.”

Chief Executive John Lee (centre) visits a polling station in Heng Fa Chuen on Saturday morning. “I have full confidence in Sunday’s election,” he said. Photo: Facebook/@John KC Lee

Under the overhauled system, 4.3 million registered voters can cast ballots for 88 directly elected seats, out of 470 in total. The city’s leader will choose 179, local committees will decide another 176 and rural leaders will hold the remaining 27. No opposition candidates received the endorsements needed to qualify.

The district councils were revamped to align with Beijing’s “patriots only” policy, with the proportion of directly elected seats cut by more than 90 per cent to less than 20 per cent.