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HKPLN: The Hong Kong District Council elections were held on 24 November 2019 for all 18 District Councils of Hong Kong. 452 seats from all directly elected constituencies were contested out of the 479 seats in total. Total votes were nearly 3 million, amounting to 71% of registered voters. Observers commented that the election was widely seen as a referendum on the ongoing Hong Kong protests. This is the 6th election being held since Hong Kong’s return to China.
Pro-democratic
The pro-democratic camp obtained its biggest landslide victory ever, coming out being in control of 17 of the 18 District Councils. This increased their number of seats from 116 to 347. It was also able to secure 117 District Council subsector seats in the 1,200-member Election Committee. This committee is responsible for the electing of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong.
The Civil Human Rights Front was reported to have commented that “The results from today’s de facto referendum are very clear . . . We do not accept police violence. ”
The leader of the Democratic Party, Wu Chi-wai, said that the election is the first step on a long path to full democracy. He felt that “this district election shows that the central government needs to face the demands of a democratic system.”
Paul Zimmerman who was re-elected said in a speech outside Polytechnic University that “The people of Hong Kong have spoken”. He further commented that “Now is time for the government to respond. Don’t fail Hong Kong again.”.
Pro-Establishment
Pro-establishment candidates won 60 seats. The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) received the largest defeat ever, losing almost a hundred seats. Numerous prominent pro-establishment lawmakers lost their campaigns for re-election. This includes Junius Ho who was reported to have expressed support for the Triads behind the mob attack in Yuen Long. Regina Ip’s New People’s Party did not obtain a single seat and this led to their complete removal from all District Councils.
Chief Executive of Hong Kong Carrie Lam mentioned that the government would respect the result. She commented that “Many pointed out that the results reflect the public’s dissatisfaction with the social status quo and deep-seated problems. The SAR Government will listen to the views of the public with an open mind and seriously reflect on it.”
Lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-su, having lost his seat at the Tsuen Wan District Council revealed that while he had the same number of votes as in the previous elections, he felt that it was not enough this time due to the inclusion of first-time voters. Commenting that “If thats true, it means young people are no longer insensitive to politics”
After losing, Junius Ho wrote on Facebook commenting “The world is turned upside down”.
Earlier, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi commented that “no matter what happens, Hong Kong is a part of China and a special administrative region of China.”
China’s foreign ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, said during a regular briefing on Monday that the central government resolutely supports Lam’s leadership. He also commented that China backs the police and judiciary in Hong Kong in “punishing relevant violent and illegal behaviours”.
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Independent candidates secured 45 seats.





