Hong Kong district council election: voter turnout hits record low 27.5%, task force to investigate computer glitch
- Authorities release final figure nearly eight hours after polling closed for 88 seats contested by pro-establishment candidates
- City leader John Lee announces task force to investigate brief computer system failure that extended deadline, while six residents also arrested
The turnout for Sunday’s poll was a sharp drop from the 71.23 per cent recorded in the last municipal-level vote in 2019 held at the height of the anti-government protests in which the opposition bloc scored a landslide victory, and also down 8.28 percentage points from the previous lowest participation rate of 35.82 per cent in 1999.
The Legislative Council election revamped under the “patriots-only” rule in 2021 logged a turnout rate of 30.2 per cent.
In contrast to the usual practice of announcing the final figure shortly after voting ends, authorities released the number nearly eight hours later. Polling stations were hit by a computer system failure just two hours ahead of when the election was supposed to end, which forced authorities to issue ballots manually before extending voting hours by 90 minutes.
Beijing on Monday offered its congratulations, saying the poll was important in implementing the principle of “patriots governing Hong Kong”.
The State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office said more than 1.19 million people had voted to counter the “smearing” of the poll. The office also spelled out five expectations for those elected, including putting more effort into implementing the “one country, two systems” governing principle, resolving conflicts, doing practical things for residents, uniting society and fulfilling their duties.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu acknowledged the final turnout figures and said the “high-quality” election “fully shows our excellent election culture and highlights the revamped district council system as being far superior”.