Hong Kong district council election: marginal candidates face uphill battle against voter apathy, bigger parties’ clout
- Middle-of-the-road hopefuls worry their chances will be hit if many voters stay home on Sunday
- Almost three in five of 171 candidates contesting 88 directly elected seats are from major parties
Not that he is facing a stiff challenge like in 2019, when opposition candidates scored a landslide victory in district councils across Hong Kong.
This time, no opposition candidate has been cleared to run in the December 10 election because of Beijing’s “patriots-only” rule.
But Chong, the only candidate from middle-of-the-road political organisation Roundtable, said he was up against voter apathy and well-resourced candidates from major parties.
“I am not optimistic about winning. I have a lot more pressure than I had in 2019,” said the 39-year-old lawmaker’s assistant, who has been serving in the Tuen Mun and Yuen Long communities as a worker for his group since 2018.
Marginal aspirants are concerned their chances will suffer if many of the city’s 4.3 million voters stay home on polling day.
That is a prospect the city administration is concerned about too, and Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has been leading officials in encouraging Hongkongers to exercise their right to vote, with observers saying a low turnout would reflect poorly on the election.