Scuffles outside an Aberdeen polling station on Sunday marked the start of a by-election in Hong Kong that could prove to be a crucial test for the city’s pro-democracy movement.Pro-Beijing hecklers jeered and shoved student protest leaders Joshua Wong and Nathan Law at a campaign stop for pro-democracy candidate Au Nok-hin on the south of Hong Kong island. The by-election was triggered when six lawmakers elected in 2016 were ejected from the city’s Legislative Council over protests made during their swearing-in ceremony.Four of the six vacant seats are being contested on March 11 in a vote that could mark a shift in power in Hong Kong. The pro-democracy camp, which holds 24 of the 70 seats, faces the loss of its ability to veto bills in the Legislative Council if its share of the chamber falls below one-third. The Legislative Council is dominated by Pro-Beijing factions with around half of chamber elected by interest groups representing businesses and industries.Law and Wong initially backed fellow Demosisto Party member Agnes Chow in the election but switched to support Au Nok-hin after Chow was barred from standing by Hong Kong’s Electoral Affairs Commission. The electoral watchdog’s ruling that Demosisto’s calls for “self-determination” for Hong Kong violated the city’s mini-constitution sparked a political storm in January.Law, who was one of the disqualified lawmakers, and Wong, were ineligible to stand in Sunday’s election because of ongoing legal action over their involvement in the 2014 Occupy Central protests.This video shows the scuffle in Aberdeen and a comment on the incident from Nathan Law. Credit: Aaron Mc Nicholas via Storyful