HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong voters are casting ballots Sunday in their second legislative election since a 2021 overhaul of the system eliminated the pro-democracy opposition in the Chinese territory.
The poll, coming less than two weeks after an apartment fire that killed at least 159 people, is a possible test of public sentiment about the government's handling of the tragedy.
The focus is on voter turnout, which fell to about 30% in the last election in 2021, after the overhaul dampened interest. Some analysts believe mounting public anger over government accountability in the blaze could suppress turnout further.
Turnout reached 15% of eligible voters by 1:30 p.m., after the polls had been open for six hours. The polls close at 11:30 p.m.
City leader John Lee has called on citizens to vote, saying Friday it would send a signal on promoting reforms. He said he would put forth a proposal to the new legislature on how to support the victims, many who have been left homeless by the fire.
Deadly blaze stalled get-out-the-vote efforts
Election campaigning was suspended after the fire and remained subdued in the final days out of respect for the victims.
Government efforts to drive up turnout — seen as a referendum on the new electoral system — had been in full swing before the blaze.
Officials held candidate forums, extended voting by two hours, added polling stations and offered subsidies to older people and centers for people with disabilities to help their clients vote, along with hanging promotional banners and posters throughout the city.
Authorities arrested people who allegedly posted content that incited others not to vote or cast invalid votes.
Hong Kong's deadliest fire in decades has raised questions over government oversight and suspected bid-rigging in building maintenance projects. The 1980s-era apartment complex was undergoing renovations.
Lee said last week that going ahead with the election, rather than delaying it, would better support the response to the fire.
"They have all experienced this fire and shared the pain,” he said of the city's Legislative Council. “They will certainly work with the government to promote reforms, diligently review funding, and draft relevant laws.”
Candidates are required to be Beijing loyalists
Many of the city's 4.1 million eligible voters, especially democracy supporters, have turned away from politics since a crackdown that followed massive anti-government protests in 2019.
Even before the 2021 electoral changes, only half of what had been a 70-member legislature was chosen by the general electorate.
Now, that has been reduced to 20 out of 90 seats. Another 40 are chosen by a largely pro-Beijing election committee. The remaining 30 represent various groups — mainly major industries such as finance, health care and real estate — and are elected by their members.
Candidates are vetted to ensure they are patriots loyal to the central government in Beijing.
The candidate pool seems to reflect Beijing's desire to have more lawmakers who are more in tune with its agenda, some observers said, in what they see as signs of Beijing’s tightening control even over its loyalists.
Lee has said that personnel changes are normal during an election. He criticized attempts to “distort” these changes to smear the new election system.
A fall in turnout would show that even some government supporters are staying away, said John Burns, an honorary professor of politics and public administration at the University of Hong Kong.
Some might want to show support for the government's response to the fire, but others might have reservations because of the high death toll and reports of systemic problems in the building maintenance industry.
“It is a reflection of public sentiment,” he said.
China warns foreign media in Hong Kong
Beijing’s national security arm in Hong Kong summoned representatives of several foreign news outlets including The Associated Press to a meeting Saturday.
Some foreign media had spread false information and smeared the government's disaster relief efforts after the fire, as well as attacked and interfered with the legislative elections, the Office for Safeguarding National Security said in a statement.
"'Freedom of the press' and compliance with the law are not mutually exclusive," the statement said. "No media outlet may use 'freedom of the press' as a pretext to interfere in China’s internal affairs or Hong Kong affairs."
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Moritsugu reported from Beijing. Associated Press writer Chan Ho-him in Hong Kong contributed to this report.