Hong Kong voted on Sunday to elect its new lawmakers under rules imposed by Beijing since 2021, with government efforts to encourage participation overshadowed by the city's deadliest fire in decades.
Published on: 06/12/2025 - 17:53 Modified on: 07/12/2025 - 19:21
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The citizens of Hong Kong, a former British colony returned in 1997, today a territory with special status of China and a financial center, voted on Sunday December 7 to elect 90 deputies to the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, of which only 20 seats are filled by direct suffrage.
Chinese authorities reformed the island's electoral system in 2021 to ensure that only "patriots" can hold public office and significantly reduced the number of directly elected seats - currently 20 out of 90 - in the Legislative Council.
These legislative elections recorded a participation rate of 31.9%, according to the city's electoral office, slightly higher than that of the previous 2021 election which had the lowest participation.
The authorities had put in place incentive measures such as extending the hours of polling stations, or even later running of trains. Some companies have promised to give their employees half a day off if they go to the polls.
Around 1.3 million of the 4.1 million registered voters cast ballots, according to official figures. This election took place without the two main pro-democracy parties: the Civic Party, dissolved in 2023, and the Democratic Party, in decline.
Around a third of outgoing MPs did not seek re-election. Among the newcomers, Olympic fencing champion Vivian Kong, candidate in the constituency dedicated to tourism - where the winner is chosen by representatives of the sector and not by universal suffrage.
A campaign tarnished by the Wang Fuk Court fire
This electoral campaign was abruptly interrupted by the fire which ravaged residential towers in Wang Fuk Court, in the north of Hong Kong on November 26, killing at least 159 people.
This tragedy aroused the anger of some residents who are demanding that responsibilities be established. Survivors and local residents are calling for increased government supervision, a thorough investigation and rapid rehousing solutions.
In response, the government will present a bill at the first sitting of the new Legislative Council to address relief and reconstruction measures, said local chief executive John Lee. He had already announced the creation of an “independent commission” chaired by a judge, responsible for investigating the fire which ravaged seven towers under renovation.
In 2021, clashes between the pro-Beijing and pro-democracy camps
By Wednesday evening, police had arrested 15 people from different construction companies on suspicion of manslaughter. Police also arrested, according to local media, at least three people for sedition following the fire, including Miles Kwan, a 24-year-old student who distributed leaflets demanding accountability from the government. The latter was then seen leaving a police station free.
China's national security agency in Hong Kong (OSNS) summoned representatives of international media, including the AFP, for an update on Saturday, accusing them of spreading false information in their reporting on coverage of the fire. “The Office will not tolerate any actions by anti-China elements and troublemakers in Hong Kong,” the OSNS online statement also read.
Before 2021, parliamentary elections in Hong Kong had been marked by violent clashes between the pro-Beijing and pro-democracy camps, with the latter often winning around 60% of the vote.
But in 2020, Beijing imposed a draconian national security law, notably stifling dissent, after the city was shaken in 2019 by large-scale demonstrations for democracy, sometimes with violence. Some pro-democracy MPs have been imprisoned, others have resigned or fled Hong Kong.
With AFP
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