Plans to overhaul the District Council elections were unveiled in May 2023 to ensure only “patriots” were elected, following a pro-democracy landslide at the last polls in 2019. The number of seats chosen democratically by the public was slashed to around 20 per cent, with the rest chosen by the city’s leader and government-appointed committees.
Constituency boundaries were redrawn, the opposition were shut out, and each local council is to be chaired by a government official, similar to colonial-era arrangements. All candidates undergo national security vetting to ensure patriotism.
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Hong Kong spent over HK$1.2 billion on first ‘patriots-only’ local election, marked by record low turnout
Last year’s District Council election, the first held under an overhauled system that slashed democratic representation, saw a record-low turnout. The sum works out at just over HK$1,000 spent for each of the 1,195,331 voters.
UK tells Hongkongers ‘you are safe here,’ as city slams ‘slanders and smears’
After the UK’s latest six-monthly report on Hong Kong said the city was on a “negative trajectory,” the government said Britain was not authorised to “interfere in Hong Kong’s affairs.”
No laws barring election losers from joining district committees, Hong Kong home affairs minister says
More than 100 candidates who lost in last year’s district council election were appointed to the three district committees on Monday, accounting for about 80 per cent of the candidates who lost.
Veteran Hong Kong activist Koo Sze-yiu jailed for 9 months over planned protest against District Council race
Koo Sze-yiu, 78, was sentenced to nine months in prison under the sedition law for planning to take a home-made coffin to protest the overhauled District Council race last December.
Veteran Hong Kong activist Koo Sze-yiu to face verdict over planned protest against ‘unfair’ District Council race
Koo Sze-yiu, 77, had described the District Council election as “unfair.” He did not give evidence in the trial and said he was ready to accept his “14th imprisonment.”