HONG KONG, Dec 5 — Turnout is expected to be low for Hong Kong's "patriots only" legislative election on Sunday (December 7), with subdued political campaigning as the population reels from the city's deadliest blaze in decades that has killed 159 people so far.
Volunteers tentatively handed out flyers and hung banners outside subway stations and crowded intersections today, but residents largely ignored them. Campaigning activities were suspended for a few days following last week's fire.
"This accident, of course, can influence the attendance of the election... (Hong Kongers) do not have the interest, the eagerness to elect people," said retiree C.K. Lau, 82.
Some analysts have viewed the vote as a test of the Hong Kong government's legitimacy as it tries to soothe public anger over the fire and oversee an ongoing national security crackdown.
Locals said they were angry and traumatised after authorities admitted that substandard building materials used during renovation work at the high-rise estate in northern Tai Po district were responsible for fuelling the blaze.
"Everyone's mood is so heavy right now. How can we still talk about holding an election under these circumstances?
"It definitely has to be postponed," said May Li, 48.
The last Legislative Council elections in 2021 recorded the lowest voter turnout since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997: 30.2 per cent.
Yesterday, Hong Kong's National Security Office urged residents to "actively participate in voting," saying it is critical in supporting government post-disaster reconstruction efforts.
"Every voter is a stakeholder in the homeland of Hong Kong. If you truly love Hong Kong, you will vote sincerely," it said in a statement.
The city's anti-corruption body said yesterday that four people were arrested for inciting others not to vote. Another three were arrested for the same offence on November 20, according to a previous statement.
National security authorities have also repeatedly warned against attempts to "exploit" the fire to incite another "colour revolution," referring to the 2019 pro-democracy protests that roiled the city.
Publicly inciting a boycott of the vote was criminalised in 2021 as part of sweeping electoral reforms that effectively squeezed out pro-democracy voices from the city's 90-seat legislature.
Analysts have noted that following Beijing's imposition of a national security law on the city in 2020, the reforms ensured that only pro-Beijing candidates — "patriots" — could run, further reducing the space for meaningful democratic participation by Hong Kong residents.
Pan-democrat voters, who traditionally made up about 60 per cent of Hong Kong's electorate, have since shunned the elections.
The number of registered voters for Sunday's polls, at 4.13 million, has also dropped for the fourth consecutive year, from a peak of 4.47 million in 2021.
The current term of the Legislative Council ends on December 31. If the election were delayed, a vacuum period could emerge, making it challenging to maintain a functional lawmaking body.
