Hong Kong’s voters have delivered an unprecedented landslide for pro-democracy candidates in local elections, in a powerful show of solidarity with the city’s protest movement and rebuke to the government over its handling of the crisis.
Over six months of escalating violence on the streets, Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam had claimed the support of a “silent majority” for her hardline response and refusal to compromise. Sunday’s vote, widely seen as a proxy referendum on the city’s future, exposed that stance as a sham.
People turned out in record numbers to eject pro-Beijing politicians from district councils they had controlled across the city. They held on to little over 10 percent of the 452 openly contested seats.
Pro-democracy candidates won a majority of seats on all 18 councils, although they will only control 17 because a large number of government appointees shifted the balance of power in the Islands district.
Both in absolute numbers and in turnout rates it was easily the biggest exercise in democratic participation that Hong Kong has seen, with many voters waiting more than an hour to cast their ballots.
Lam and her backers in China who are unused to dealing with democratic challenges to their rule, must now decide how to respond.
Lam said on Monday her government would respect the election results and would “listen humbly” to the views of the public, but Beijing took a less conciliatory tone.
“Whatever happens, Hong Kong is always a part of China and any attempts to create chaos in Hong Kong or to jeopardise its prosperity and stability will not be successful,” said the Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi, during a visit to Japan.
When polls closed at 10.30pm on Sunday, nearly 3 million people had voted, representing more than 71% of the electorate and nearly half of Hong Kong’s population. Many had never voted before.
The unexpected clean sweep marks a sea change in Hong Kong politics, where pro-Beijing and government politicians have enjoyed a wealth of resources and support from the elite.
“I would not use the word happy, but we have made progress towards a situation where we can fight back against the government,” said Clarisse Yeung, an artist-turned-politician who led campaigning in the Wan Chai district, and announced the shift of power with tears in her eyes.
“It’s important because we all know that we have been sacrificing too much in the past few months,” she said. “Hong Kong people are no longer naive. We have to prepare ourselves, we have to have faith in ourselves to bring change.”
A string of prominent pro-Beijing candidates were also evicted from what had been safe seats, among them Junius Ho, who has been widely reviled for shaking hands with a gang of thugs who attacked protesters and commuters in July.
There will be few immediate political consequences in Hong Kong because the councils have limited powers, only a small budget and a mandate restricted to hyper-local issues such as parks, bus stops and waste collection.
But these local election victories may sow the seeds of greater long-term influence for democrats, because the councils play a role in choosing the city’s chief executive and some legislators.
Many of those who turned out on Sunday had never cast a ballot before. “It’s my first time voting. I registered myself because of the [protest] movement,” said Vivian Lee, an insurance worker in her 30s. “I’m happy so many people have come out to vote, because we want our voices heard.”
Despite long queues outside polling stations a spirit of exhilaration gripped much of the city, perhaps because people had a chance to give private, peaceful verdicts on a showdown that has upended normal life.
It was the first weekend without teargas on the streets since mid-August, though after voting ended, riot police did end an almost entirely peaceful day by using pepper spray to resolve a dispute between supporters of rival candidates.
District elections had not previously attracted much interest in Hong Kong, or beyond. The councils have a reputation for self-serving indolence and for years they were packed by disciplined and well-funded pro-Beijing candidates.
But months of pro-democracy protests, from a two million-strong peaceful march in June, to increasingly violent street demonstrations that culminated in a siege of a city-centre university, turned a sleepy local poll into something more significant.
For many in Hong Kong, Sunday’s vote was both an opportunity and an obligation, particularly important because district councils are the only Hong Kong authority selected by full universal suffrage. The city’s leader is chosen by an electoral college and only some seats in the city’s legislature are selected in open ballots.
“If you are willing to march or protest in the streets, which requires blood and sweat and tears, it’s much easier to walk downstairs and vote,” said one man who has taken part in the protests, and asked not to be named because of fear of official retaliation. “Even if the system is broken, we can try to use it against the government.”
A last-minute surge in registrations added nearly 400,000 voters to the electoral rolls – most of them young – and a wave of novice pro-democracy candidates meant that for the first time in Hong Kong’s history every seat was contested.
Many pro-Beijing candidates were running on promises to “stop the violence” of the protests in which at least two people have died and hundreds have been injured, some critically.
Authorities have tried to paint the demonstrators as unreasonable extremists, and brush off calls for an independent inquiry into escalating police brutality.
But even in establishment strongholds, support for pro-democracy candidates grew. Adrian Lau ran in a seat in Yuen Long district that had never been contested by a pro-democracy candidate before, near a village where thugs gathered after they attacked protesters and commuters at the Yuen Long metro station in July.
“Many people have completely lost trust in the police after the incident,” he said. “Some told us they’d vote for us and thank us for giving them an alternative but daren’t say that out loud.”
Stephen, a retired businessman in his 60s voting in the affluent Mid-Levels neighbourhood, said: “This will send the message to the government that they should be more humble. It’s your job to serve people, and not beat people up if they don’t listen to you.”
Lam acknowledged that the result has sparked discussion of the fact that “citizens are dissatisfied with the current social situation and ... deep-seated problems,” without going into details.
The protest movement has had several key demands including direct popular elections and a probe into alleged police brutality, and the result may bring new pressure on Lam to meet them. She has previously rejected the demands as “wishful thinking”.