Explainer | Hong Kong elections: 5 things to watch out for in Sunday’s polls, the first since Beijing’s system overhaul
- Performance of the only two opposition candidates, new polling station technology and which state leader will take top role – some key questions surrounding historic Election Committee contest
- Polls for 1,500-member body wielding extensive new powers kicks of Hong Kong elections season
Sunday’s Election Committee polls will be very different to the previous five trips to the ballot box in Hong Kong since the city’s return to Chinese sovereignty.
Officials champion the revamp as putting Hong Kong “back on the right track” following the chaos of the 2019 unrest, while critics say the changes are stifling dissent. Whatever the assessment, there is no denying the results of the coming polls remain significant for Hong Kong.
However, only 364 places on the 1,500-member Election Committee are up for grabs on Sunday, with most seats predetermined as uncontested or appointed.
Just 4,889 voters representing different professions and trades will be casting their ballots. Individual voting in all professional subsectors previously won by the opposition has been abolished.
The number of registered voters in total has been slashed by 97 per cent, from 246,440 in 2016 to 7,971 this year.
The new Election Committee, previously only tasked with picking the city’s leader, will shoulder more governing responsibilities.
It will now send 40 representatives, some or all of whom can be from within its own ranks, to the enlarged 90-seat Legislative Council and will nominate all lawmakers.