Quartz reports “of the 70 seats, 55 have been announced, with 22 going to pro-democracy candidates”. His constituency elects six seats and he is now in second place, with 90% of votes counted.
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That now seems unlikely, because the candidate he supported, Sixtus Leung of the Youngspiration party, won a seat.
Some democracts who lost their seats to the younger generation also agree that the influnce of the youth in Hong Kong politics is indeed a positive step.
Opposition to Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing establishment has grown more forthright.
Most established pro-democracy politicians do not support the notion of independence and there were concerns in the democratic camp that new activists would split the vote, triggering overall losses.
Until now, the pro-democracy forces in the city have been dominated by politicians who sought to expand the power of voters to select the city’s leaders and lawmakers under the guidance of the mini-constitution that codifies Hong Kong’s special relationship with mainland China, called “one country, two systems”. The preliminary results suggested that Nathan Law, one of the student leaders of the Umbrella Movement, is set to be Hong Kong’s youngest legislator at 23.
Pro-Beijing supporters have been accused of offering financial incentives to potential supporters and bringing in busloads of former Hong Kong residents living in China to vote in the election.
At least three of the young leaders who took the front row in the 2014 pro-democracy protests have been elected to Hong Kong’s Legislative Council or LegCo – the majority of which holds the power to veto certain legislations in the territory.
Voters flocked to cast ballots in record numbers with some having to wait several hours after the close of polling past midnight at congested voting booths, leading to some delays in vote counting yesterday.
He co-founded the Demosisto Party with well-known activist Joshua Wong and will now become the youngest lawmaker in Hong Kong.
“It’s bleak, but I think if China doesn’t leave us to do what we want, I think the only way is to fight for independence”, said Aron Yuen, a 34-year-old college lecturer, as he stood in line of about 100 other people to cast their ballots.
A further five “super seats” are chosen by voters across the territory.
Another candidate from the so-called radical faction, Eddie Chu, who is in his late 30s, won the most votes of any candidate running in Hong Kong’s multi-seat geographic districts.
The vote is the last before a successor to Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying – who polls have shown as having a low popularity rating – is elected in March for the top post in the former British colony.
Hong Kong has been the scene of increasingly bitter political turmoil since the legislative election in 2012.
Thirty pro-democracy candidates were elected to the 70-seat LegCo on Sunday, up from 27 previously, meaning they retain the ability to veto major constitutional changes.
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Tuesday’s local edition of the state-owned China Daily newspaper said the election result could lead to “separatist ideas” being floated in the LegCo, AFP news agency reports.
