I.n the Chinese special administrative region of Hong Kong, a controversial election for the legislative council began on Sunday, in which only “patriots” are allowed to participate. Opposition parties are not allowed.
The polling stations opened at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday. When Hong Kong’s Prime Minister Carrie Lam arrived at her polling station to cast her vote, three protesters from the pro-democracy party League of Social Democrats chanted, “I want real universal suffrage”. They pointed to a controversial reform of the electoral law that had significantly curtailed the influence of the population on parliament.
Activist Chan Po-ying told reporters that Lam had promised to “improve voting rights”. However, the reform “in reality deprived Hong Kongers of the right to vote”.
Citizens are only allowed to appoint a few MPs
Since the new regulation, only 20 of the 90 seats in parliament are directly elected. 40 seats in the legislature are elected by a committee made up of representatives loyal to Beijing. The remaining 30 seats are elected by committees representing interest and industry groups. These are also considered China-friendly. In addition, all candidates were checked for their “patriotism” and their political loyalty to China before the vote.
Accordingly, voter turnout is expected to be low among the 4.5 million eligible voters.
Strict security measures
The authorities in Hong Kong had tried in advance to ensure a high turnout, informed people told Reuters. The authorities feared that a low turnout could be interpreted as a protest. “The government’s goal is clearly to get a high turnout. A low turnout could delegitimize that choice, ”said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a professor of political science at Hong Kong Baptist University.
The election began under tight security. Police chief Raymond Siu told journalists that 10,000 police officers were deployed to ensure that votes were cast smoothly. According to the government, more than ten people had been arrested before the start of the election for allegedly asking to cast blank or invalid ballot papers. It’s illegal in Hong Kong.
The Chinese parliament announced far-reaching changes to Hong Kong’s electoral system in March, including reducing the number of directly elected seats and establishing an examination board for all candidates. Only “patriots” are allowed to administer the city. In addition, more than a third of the seats are now selected by a committee made up of Beijing loyalists.
Abroad, concerns about dwindling rights and freedoms in the city have grown since Beijing passed a far-reaching national security law in response to the mass protests in 2019. It is considered the most massive break in the autonomy of the former British crown colony, which it was promised for at least 50 years when it was handed over to China in 1997 on the principle of “one country – two systems”. Western states accuse China of undermining civil rights in Hong Kong and wanting to silence the democracy movement.
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