They were demanding greater democracy for the territory amid concerns that Beijing was increasingly interfering in the former British colony’s politics, breaking the “one country, two systems” agreement.
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Professor Lau Siu Kai, chairman of a Beijing-backed think-tank, said the new, radical lawmakers will be tough to deal with and the pro-Beijing camp will need to find a way to push through policies by working with the pan-democrats. Full results are not expected till later on Monday (September 5).
While official results were yet to be released, preliminary tallies today indicated that youthful candidates from groups that emerged in the wake of 2014 pro-democracy street protests are on track to win seats. Hong Kong has been ruled by this system since returning to Chinese control in 1997.
The election was held on Sunday, when more than 2.2 million eligible voters casted their ballots at hundreds of polling stations with a turnout rate of 58 percent.
Hong Kong is split into five geographical constituencies, each with several seats in the Legislative Council (LegCo), Hong Kong’s lawmaking body.
Demosistō advocates self-determination for Hong Kong people through a referendum ahead of the 2047 expiration date of Beijing’s “no change for 50 years” to the city in 1997.
Meanwhile, a South China Morning Post report said four veteran democrats are preparing to exit the council to make way for the younger batch of democrats fighting for a more confrontational stance with Beijing.
Lawmakers will take up their seats on October 1 and will have to swear an oath to uphold the constitution, which describes Hong Kong as part of China.
The blocked candidates have launched a judicial review against the decision, which could prompt by-elections if it is successful.
The most familiar new face is that of 23-year-old Nathan Law Kwun-chung, one of the student leaders of the 2014 Occupy protests and a member of the Demosisto party, which has campaigned for Hong Kong’s right to self-determination.
At stake is the power to keep the city’s pro-Beijing leader and his government in check.
Some voters waited hours to cast their ballots at congested polling stations after the close of polling That led to delays in vote counting on Monday.
The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), won 12 seats in total, Xinhua news agency reported. Including Youngspirations’ Sixtus Baggio Leung, who was endorsed by pro-independence activist Edward Leung.
“And, actually, we (stuck with) the democratic movement, and people are voting for a new way and new future of our democratic movement”.
Law has previously distanced himself from the more radical “localist” movement, which includes activists who are stridently pro-independence and have previously advocated violence.
Another rookie, 38-year-old land reform campaigner Eddie Chu, won 84,121 votes, the highest number of votes garnered by any of the more than 200 candidates competing for 35 seats in geographic constituencies.
The newcomers were riding a rising tide of anti-China sentiment as they challenged formidably resourced pro-Beijing rivals for seats.
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“This election is very much characterised by an inter-generational change of politicians and political leaders”, he told AFP.
