Nearly 70 per cent of Hongkongers oppose postponing district council elections despite threat of protest violence, survey finds
- Only about 17 per cent of participants said government should delay or reschedule elections planned for November 24
- Results compiled by Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute from more than 1,000 interviews conducted last week
Nearly seven out of 10 Hongkongers surveyed were opposed to postponing the district council elections despite the threat of violence from anti-government protests, according to a survey released on Tuesday.
The poll results were compiled by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute, which interviewed 1,035 people between October 30 and November 1.
More than 53 per cent of the respondents said they “strongly oppose” a rescheduling of the elections, with 17.3 per cent indicating that they “fairly oppose” the idea. Only 5.4 per cent went with “half oppose”.
Hong Kong has been rocked by mass protests since June. As the violence intensified, radical protesters have vandalised property, businesses and banks, and thrown petrol bombs at metro stations, police stations and law enforcement officers.
The government formed a crisis management committee, headed by the Electoral Affairs Commission chairman Mr Justice Barnabas Fung Wah, to advise the government about what should be done about the November 24 district council elections.
