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Hong Kong elections show fresh interest among voters

First elections in city since umbrella movement demonstrations
Hong Kong elections show fresh interest among voters

A Hong Kong resident walks past a polling station during the Nov. 22 district council election. (Photo by ucanews.com)

Published: November 23, 2015 09:11 AM GMT
Updated: November 22, 2015 11:20 PM GMT

A new generation of democrats, including participants in last year's umbrella movement, has emerged in Hong Kong's first elections since anti-Beijing protests swept the city in 2014.

Observers say the street demonstrations also sparked fresh interest among the city's voters, with a record 47 percent turnout in the district council elections.

Eight seats were won by candidates who say they were inspired by the umbrella movement, a months-long civil disobedience movement for democracy that began in September 2014. At its peak, more than 150,000 people joined the protests.

The pro-government parties were the biggest winners, garnering 298 of 431 seats, while the pro-democratic parties won 112 seats. The remaining 13 seats went to independent candidates.

Lawmaker Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung, a founding member of the Labor Party, said "democracy has moved forward" in the latest elections.

"Political awakening brought by the umbrella movement led to the high turnout rate" and people cast ballots to show disapproval, he told ucanews.com.

"In some districts, heavyweights were beaten by new and younger candidates or retained their seats by narrow margins," said Cheung, a lecturer at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

The district councils, which deal with district affairs without legislative power, are traditionally consolidated in the hands of pro-government parties. However, the councils have gained increasing importance as political parties see them as a platform to reach people at the grassroots level.

Lina Chan, secretary general of the church's Justice and Peace Commission, said the election campaign saw young people taking to social media to discuss the issues.

"We have not yet seen the statistics on young voters but they do hope to have their voices heard, as reflected by the heated debates on social media and their participation in election campaigns," she said.

Ng Siu-hong, who won a seat for the Democratic Party, told ucanews.com he noticed more first-time voters.

"They came over to shake hands with me and talk about politics. It is different from the senior voters who just walked away after voting," said the 35-year-old Catholic candidate.

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