Hong Kong has recorded a near-record-low turnout in elections for its legislature, as anger over the city’s worst fire in nearly eight decades overshadowed government efforts to rally support for a vote restricted to “patriots”.
The government said turnout in Sunday’s Legislative Council (LegCo) election was 31.9 percent, slightly above the record low of 30.2 percent in 2021 – the first polls held after Beijing overhauled the system to ensure only pro-Beijing loyalists can run.
The polls were held across the autonomous Chinese city to select 90 legislators, though only 20 of those seats are directly elected.
Political campaigning for the polls was abruptly paused in late November, after a blaze tore through the housing blocks of Wang Fuk Court in northern Hong Kong, killing at least 159 people.
Al Jazeera’s Laura Westbrook, reporting from Hong Kong, said “there had been some questions” whether the voting should go ahead in light of the tragedy, believed to be the world’s deadliest residential building fire since 1980.
“But Hong Kong’s chief executive, John Lee, said the vote should go ahead, as a way to maintain stability, and that he needed the newly elected legislature to help push through reforms as well as ensure the recovery and reconstruction efforts can move ahead quickly,” Westbrook said.
Lee had earlier announced a judge-led “independent committee” to investigate the fire, which devastated seven apartment blocks that were undergoing renovations.
On Sunday, a sombre-looking Lee was seen casting his vote in the city.
The city’s anti-corruption agency said four men were arrested on Sunday over social media posts encouraging people not to vote or to cast invalid ballots, while an arrest warrant was issued for another man on Saturday.
Among those detained was 24-year-old student Miles Kwan, who handed out flyers calling for government accountability. Kwan was later reported to have been released.
Earlier this week, a university in the city also shut operations of its student union after messages were posted on campus expressing condolences and urging justice for the victims of the fire.
Public calls to boycott have been criminalised under national security changes imposed since 2019’s mass protests.
Voting hours were extended by two hours and new polling stations were opened, while major companies and business groups urged employees to cast ballots.
Legislative elections in Hong Kong used to entail boisterous clashes between pro-Beijing and pro-democracy camps, with the latter often winning about 60 percent of the popular vote.
But in 2020, Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law after the city was roiled by huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests.
Some pro-democracy lawmakers have been jailed, including as part of a subversion case that concluded last year, while others resigned or fled Hong Kong.
Sunday’s race was once again devoid of the two largest pro-democracy parties after the Civic Party disbanded in 2023 and the Democratic Party said it is winding down.
In a statement, Human Rights Watch(HRW) said China’s “attempts to present the legislature, known as the LegCo, as legitimate hardly fool anyone.”
“A government that cannot tolerate genuine discussion and debate undermines its own legitimacy. The recent, devastating Tai Po fire, which has raised concerns of government negligence, shows that the lack of democratic institutions carries real costs—in lives but also in effective governance,” HRW Asia Director Elaine Pearson said.
Before the fire, authorities had blanketed much of the city in promotional material and extended the operating hours of polling stations.
About a third of the outgoing cohort of lawmakers, including veterans such as Regina Ip and Legislative Council President Andrew Leung, are not seeking another term.
