Hong Kong voter turnout edges up to 31.4% amid anger over deadly fire

Roughly one-third of Hong Kong’s registered voters cast ballots on Sunday to choose a new 90-member legislature, an outcome that spared the government the embarrassment of a sharply lower turnout but offered little sign of strong public backing for the city’s overhauled electoral system, which has effectively sidelined the once-vocal opposition.

Turnout reached 31.4% by 10:30 p.m., an hour before polling closed, edging above the 30.2% recorded in 2021, the first election held under Beijing’s revamped rules. The figure, however, fell well short of the pre-reform era, when more than half of eligible voters typically participated.

A large share of Hong Kong’s 4.1 million voters, especially pro-democracy supporters have withdrawn from electoral politics amid a sweeping crackdown that has sharply curtailed dissent. Candidates are now required to pass a political vetting process to ensure loyalty to Beijing, a move authorities say was necessary to restore stability after the 2019 mass protests.

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To boost participation, the government mounted an aggressive get-out-the-vote campaign, added polling locations, extended voting hours and organised candidate forums. Still, public frustration over official accountability in a deadly apartment fire that killed at least 159 people last month weighed heavily on voter sentiment. Ultimately, turnout ticked up modestly from 2021.

“I’m performing my civic duty as a citizen to vote … but I’m not too certain which candidate is hardworking and which is not,” said retiree Kwan Lam outside a polling station. “I chose the one who cares for the elderly.”

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Ahead of the election, Chinese officials held an unusual meeting with foreign media to remind them of their obligation to comply with Hong Kong’s national security laws.

Deadly blaze stalled get-out-the-vote efforts

Election campaigning was suspended after the fire and remained subdued in the final days out of respect for the victims.

Government efforts to drive up turnout, seen as a referendum on the new electoral system, had been in full swing before the blaze. Promotional banners and posters were hung throughout the city and subsidies offered to centers for older people and people with disabilities to help them vote.

Authorities arrested people who allegedly posted content that incited others not to vote or cast invalid votes.

Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades has raised questions over government oversight and suspected bid-rigging in building maintenance projects. The 1980s-era apartment complex was undergoing renovations.

Some candidates pledged to combat bid-rigging.

City leader John Lee said last week that going ahead with the election, rather than delaying it, would better support the response to the fire.

“They have all experienced this fire and shared the pain,” he said of the city’s Legislative Council. “They will certainly work with the government to promote reforms, diligently review funding, and draft relevant laws.”

Candidates are required to be Beijing loyalists

Even before the 2021 electoral changes, only half of what had been a 70-member legislature was chosen by the general electorate.

Now, that has been reduced to 20 out of 90 seats and 40 others are chosen by a largely pro-Beijing election committee. The remaining 30 represent various groups — mainly major industries such as finance, health care and real estate and are elected by their members.

The “patriots” requirement for all candidates has pushed out the opposition parties, which advocated for making the system more democratic.

The candidate pool seems to reflect Beijing’s desire to have more lawmakers who are more in tune with its agenda, some observers said, in what they see as signs of Beijing’s tightening control even over its loyalists.

Lee has said that personnel changes are normal during an election. He criticized attempts to “distort” these changes to smear the new election system.

A fall in turnout would have shown that even some government supporters are staying away, said John Burns, an honorary professor of politics and public administration at the University of Hong Kong.

“It is a reflection of public sentiment,” he said.

China warns foreign media in Hong Kong

Beijing’s national security arm in Hong Kong summoned representatives of several foreign news outlets, including The Associated Press, on Saturday.

Some foreign media had spread false information and smeared the government’s disaster relief efforts after the fire, as well as attacked and interfered with the legislative elections, the Office for Safeguarding National Security said in a statement.

“No media outlet may use ‘freedom of the press’ as a pretext to interfere in China’s internal affairs or Hong Kong affairs,” the statement said.

Authorities have warned the general public against using the fire to try to undermine the government and have arrested at least one person on suspicion of inciting hatred against government officials.

With inputs from agencies