Turnout Down in Hong Kong's 'Patriots' Election
Hong Kongers went to the polls on December 19 for Legislative Council elections in which only candidates deemed “patriots” by Beijing have been allowed to run.
According to the South China Morning Post, turnout was down compared to the 2016 elections, with about 21 percent having voted eight hours into polling. The equivalent figure for 2016 was 26.9 percent.
The new rules on candidates came after district council elections in 2019 saw a landslide victory for the pro-democracy side, and major losses for pro-Beijing parties.
In January of this year, dozens of pro-democracy activists were arrested under controversial new national security laws. Credit: SocREC via Storyful
