HONG KONG: Hundreds of thousands of voters thronged polling stations across Hong Kong on Sunday for district polls seen as a key barometer of support for the city’s embattled leader Carrie Lam, who has grappled with nearly six months of often violent protests.
Voter turnout in the first three hours was nearly three times that for the previous election four years ago, government data showed, amid concerns voting could be halted if violence erupts later in the day.
Reuters witnesses said there was only a small police presence as voting began at 7:30 a.m. (2330 GMT), in contrast to reports that riot police planned to guard all polling stations and almost the entire force of 31,000 would be on duty.
“Some people are afraid the elections will be stopped by unpredictable reasons — maybe some protests,” said Kevin Lai, a 45-year-old IT worker, adding that he had come early to vote for fear of any disruptions later.
Behind him, hundreds of voters queued around a block in the neighborhood of housing estates surrounding the Wong Tai Sin government primary school.
A record 1,104 candidates are vying for 452 seats and a record 4.1 million Hong Kong people have enrolled to vote for district councillors who control some spending and decide neighborhood issues, from recycling to transport and public health.
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If the pro-democracy campaigners gain control, they could secure six seats on Hong Kong’s Legislative Council, or parliament, and 117 seats on the 1,200-member panel that selects its chief executive.
She also expressed hope that a rare lull in violence over the past few days would persist.
“I hope this kind of stability and calm is not only for today’s election, but to show that everyone does not want Hong Kong to fall into a chaotic situation again, hoping to get out of this dilemma, and let us have a fresh start,” Lam said.
UNIVERSITY SIEGE STAGGERS ON
A stand-off at Polytechnic University entered its seventh day on Sunday, with the campus surrounded by police as some protesters hid out on the sprawling grounds roamed by first aid workers.
Demonstrators are angry at what they see as Chinese meddling in the freedoms promised to the former British colony when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997. They say they are also responding to excessive use of force by police.
Brutal attacks on election candidates have thrust Hong Kong’s lowest-tier government onto the international stage as the government struggles to tame the protests.
