Hong Kong Legco poll: 8 things to know, from the youngest to the ‘toughest’ lawmakers
The Post looks at some highlights of Sunday’s poll, which delivered a few surprises despite a slight improvement in voter turnout rate
The numbers were tallied overnight and 90 newly minted lawmakers will begin their term in January after winning in Sunday’s Legislative Council election.
The citywide poll which drew a turnout rate of 31.9 per cent – slightly higher than four years ago, at 30.2 per cent – delivered a few surprises as several new faces defeated incumbent lawmakers from leading parties.
The Post highlights the key takeaways from the poll, the second held since Beijing’s “patriots-only” electoral system overhaul in 2021.
Fewer voters, more invalid votes despite better turnout
The government made an all-out effort to promote the poll, and the turnout rate was 31.9 per cent, up slightly from the record low of 30.2 per cent in the previous Legco election in 2021.
Despite the better turnout rate, the number of people who voted declined by 2.4 per cent to about 1.32 million, with the total number of registered voters dropping by 340,000, or 7.6 per cent, to about 4.13 million, compared with four years ago.
More invalid votes were also recorded, taking up 3.12 per cent of the total cast. The 41,147 spoiled votes were more than the 27,453 in 2021, which accounted for 2.03 per cent of the total cast.
The turnout rate in the functional constituencies was 40.09 per cent, with 76,942 votes cast. While some sectors saw a full turnout, such as the commercial (third) and technology and innovation, the accountancy sector registered the lowest figure, at 34.9 per cent. Functional constituency lawmakers are elected by representatives from their sectors.