Hong Kong’s Lam acknowledges people’s discontent expressed in results

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam acknowledged on Tuesday that the record turnout in local elections won by pro-democracy candidates highlighted dissatisfaction with her administration, while appealing for an end to violent protests.

Appearing tired and drawn, Lam spoke a day after results showed democratic candidates secured almost 90% of 452 district council seats in Sunday’s elections, a landslide victory in polls that were widely seen as a barometer of the opposition to the Beijing-backed politician following months of unrest.

The Guardian reports that 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.

South China Morning Post reports that the pro-democracy camp’s crushing victory in Hong Kong’s district council elections has left anti-government protesters pondering how to keep the momentum going until all of their five key demands are met, as they next seek to break the pro-establishment bloc’s dominance in the legislature.

Some protesters believed the democrats elected on Sunday should lay the groundwork for the Legislative Council election in September next year by spreading their political ideology at the district level. Others thought radicals would continue to block roads and vandalise metro stations, as peaceful protesters had largely not turned their backs on the movement despite recent violent clashes with police.

Via The Guardian / Reuters / South China Morning Post