In Hong Kong’s district council elections, only 27.5 percent of the city’s voters went to the polls, reports Reuters news agency. Many voters see the elections as undemocratic. Never before have so few city residents voted during an election.
The drop in turnout follows China’s introduction of the security law in 2020. This law has completely overhauled the city’s electoral system and kept dissent from those of the Chinese government in check. Much of the opposition has since been in prison or fled abroad. The parties and candidates that residents could still vote for had all been approved by Beijing.
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“You can see that everyone is starting to feel that the elections have no meaning,” Lemon Wong told Reuters. He is one of the few remaining Democrats still involved in local politics. “Even proponents of the new system wonder why they have to vote, because it’s all the same.”
Four years ago during the same type of elections there was a record turnout of 71 percent. Massive pro-democracy protests against China’s growing influence then took place in Hong Kong. At that time, 90 percent of the seats were still eligible. After the security law, that is only 20 percent.
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