Hong Kong holds first council elections under new rules that shut out pro-democracy candidates

Residents went to the polls on Sunday in Hong Kong's first district council elections since an electoral overhaul was implemented under Beijing's guidance of “patriots” administering the city, effectively shutting out all pro-democracy candidates.

Turnout is expected to be much lower than in the last elections, held at the height of the 2019 anti-government protests. Some pro-democracy voters, dismayed by the drastic rule changes, including the elimination of most directly elected seats, are turning their backs on the polls.

The final turnout will be a barometer of public sentiment toward the “patriots”-only system, the new political order under the Hong Kong government's crackdown on dissidents following the 2019 protests — the most concerted challenge to Beijing since the former British colony returned to China’s rule in 1997.

Photos by AP

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