Hong Kong elected a total of 90 new lawmakers on Sunday under Beijing’s revamped rules, which ensured that the city’s Legislative Council is stacked with “patriots.”
While the polls saw a historic low turnout of around 1.3 million people – or 30.2 per cent of registered voters – Chief Executive Carrie Lam defended the elected candidates as “broadly representative,” and said the composition of the expanded legislature was “quite good.”
Chief Executive Carrie Lam cast her ballot at the Raimondi College poling station. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.Members of the League of Social Democrats, including Chan Po-ying, led a four-person protest near Raimondi College as the chief executive cast her ballot. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.A polling station at the Hennessy Road Government Primary School in Wan Chai. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.A supporter asked New People’s Party chief Regina Ip to sign an autograph on his back. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.Election poster and dried fruits on sale Photo: Kyle Lam. Free bus rides on election day. Photo: Kelly Ho/HKFP.Masses of passengers passed through MTR turnstiles freely as train rides have been made free on election day. Photo: Candice Chau/HKFP. Hundreds of people queued up for buses in Causeway Bay as bus rides were free on election day. Photo: Candice Chau/HKFP. A polling station in Tai Koo. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.Stanley Ng Chau-pei, head of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, is canvassing in Siu Sai wan. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.DAB volunteers canvassing for Edward Leung. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.DAB candidate Lau Kwok-fun was canvassing in Fanling on Sunday afternoon. Photo: Kelly Ho/HKFP.Legislative candidate Lau Chan Hok-fung (centre) and pro-Beijing heavyweight Ip Kwok-him (right) in Kennedy Town. Photo: Kelly Ho/HKFP. Chairperson of the Electoral Affairs Commission Justice Barnabas Fung and Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang opening the first ballot box in Hong Kong’s first “patriots-only” legislative race on December 19, 2021. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Candidates in the Election Committee constituency in Hong Kong’s first “patriots-only” Legislative Council election. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Candidates in the Election Committee constituency in Hong Kong’s first “patriots-only” Legislative Council election. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Bill Tang from the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
The names of the candidates will be revealed later but they include incumbent and ex-district councillors, Chairperson Lo Kin-hei said on Wednesday evening.
Winnie Yu, one of the 47 democrats charged in Hong Kong’s largest national security case, said she believed the legislature should be made up of lawmakers with stronger willpower.
Ricky Or’s former assistant Cyrus Chan said the ex-district councillor would read and sign off on “important” posts, but he would not vet all of the posts about community work and administrative affairs.
The pro-democracy political party, which was established in 2006 as the city debated how its leaders might be elected, voted to dissolve on Saturday, marking a further blow to Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement.
