Hong Kong ‘patriots only’ local election: Voting hours extended after tech glitch, as gov’t sees support among minorities
Hong Kong Free Press
By Tom Grundy, Hans Tse and Irene Chan
Voting hours in Sunday’s opposition-free “patriots only” local elections have been extended following a technical glitch.
At 8.29 pm, the Electoral Affairs Commission said that polling stations will be open beyond 10.30 pm owing to a computer system failure. In a statement, the commission said that – as of 8.12 pm – all stations had switched to printed-form final registers for issuing ballots after the Electronic Poll Register system failed.
A voter – who did not wish to be named – told HKFP by email that there were delays of around an hour when she tried to cast her ballot. She said that, when she arrived at Mary Mount School in Wan Chai at around 7.35 pm, the computer system would not process her ID card. It took 30 minutes before staff at the station began to switch to manual procedures.
“Was finally able to vote at around 20.23 – around 20 people were waiting around and lots of unhappy old people,” she said, adding that staff in charge were unable to say how long the disruption would last, and several people left.
As of 7.30 pm, 24.53 per cent of eligible voters had cast a ballot.
Jordan voters cast their ballots
On Battery Street in Jordan – a community popular with ethnic minorities – the polling station saw a stream of voters casting their ballots on Sunday evening.
Thapa Pramika, a Nepalese woman who has lived in Hong Kong for 21 years, told HKFP outside a polling station that she hoped her ballot would lead to change. “We hope the district councillor can help reduce the rent a bit. Rent is very high in Hong Kong and it’s difficult for foreigners to live [here],“ Pramika said, who works as a cashier and rents an apartment with her husband in Jordan.
Mr. Wong, a Chinese man aged around 70, also cast his ballot on Sunday evening. He said he was very excited about the election and had gone to West Kowloon District to enjoy the “Build a Better Community” Gala on Saturday night.
“I think that the government has been actively working over the past few years. I came to vote a bit earlier this year compared to previous elections,” Wong – who runs a store and only offered his surname – told HKFP in Cantonese. A pro-establishment camp supporter, Wong said the new electoral system was fine. “Let’s give it a try. It can be changed again later if we find it to be no good.”
The opposition have been effectively barred from Sunday’s race. Plans to overhaul the District Council elections were unveiled in May 2023 to ensure only “patriots” were elected, following a pro-democracy landslide at the last polls in 2019. The number of seats chosen democratically by the public were slashed from 452 to 88 – reducing the power of public votes to a fifth. The rest are to be chosen by the city’s leader and government-appointed committees.
Constituency boundaries were redrawn, voting hours were slashed by an hour, and each local council is to be chaired by a government official, similar to colonial-era arrangements. All candidates undergo national security vetting to ensure patriotism.
Raiaasha Maya, a Nepalese woman who has lived in the city for 15 years, voted for the first time on Sunday whilst carrying her infant. “I just gave birth and was not working. I finally have time to study the candidates and vote,” Maya told HKFP, adding that she had read news reports and candidates’ leaflets to pick the election hopeful she preferred.
She said she understood the election system had changed a lot compared to previous ones: “But I am not interested in politics. I just hope to use my ballot to do something.”
Not everyone was dipping into the polling station. Mr. Lee, a resident aged around 50, had no interest as he passed by: “I am not going to vote as I don’t have time to understand the candidates’ agenda. Or, you could call me someone of political apathy, “ Lee said in Cantonese, only offering his surname.
Jordan falls into the Yau Tsim Mong South geographical constituency, which is seeing six candidates contest two seats. Half of the candidates are of an ethnic minority background, including Muhammad Fakhrul Islam, who is known as Babu and owns a trading company, Baljinder “Jimmy” Singh who owns a security firm, and Ilyas Mohammad, a logistics company owner.
The three other candidates include Chris Ip, secretary general of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, community officer Haywood Guan Weixi, and company director Rain To Shun-win.
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