Hong Kong Legco poll to use electronic vote counting for trade seats for first time

Electronic ballot counting will be used in Hong Kong’s Legislative Council election for the first time for the 30 trade-based seats, with lawmakers calling for greater adoption of advanced technology to improve voter turnout.

But legislators heard on Monday that the technology would not be deployed for the 20 directly elected geographical constituency seats, as paper ballots and hand counting would continue to be used.

At a Legco panel meeting, some lawmakers urged authorities to step up the use of technology to make casting ballots more convenient and encourage people to vote.

Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai said “many factors” affected voter turnout and it was “impractical to set rigid indicators”.

“But it does not mean we do not care about voter turnout,” he said.

“Through more explanation and publicity, we hope the public will understand that taking part in elections is closely related to the steady progress of the ‘one country, two systems’ governing principle and the well-being of the public.”