Map of the winning party (in circles) and vote share of top candidate by constituency
The 2023 Hong Kong District Council elections were held on 10 December 2023 for all 18 District Councils of Hong Kong, electing 264 of the 470 seats in the councils.[3] Under the new electoral system, 88 of the elected 264 seats were directly elected by 4.3 million voters, while 176 of them were indirectly elected among some 2,400 members of the government-appointed District Committees. More than one-third of the remaining seats were appointed by the Chief Executive.
The electoral changes passed earlier in the year revived appointed seats in the deliberation bodies, introduced seats elected by government-appointed District Committees, and tightened eligibility with vetting and mandatory nomination from the District Committee members. As a result, this is the first election in Hong Kong contested by pro-Beijing candidates only,[4] as the pro-democracy camp, which won a landslide in the last election amidst protests, had faced challenges since under the national security law, and under the new electoral rules, both pro-democracy and moderate parties failed to earn enough nominations to enter the race.
Despite the government's efforts to boost the voter turnout, only 1.19 million voters, or 27.5% of registered voters cast their ballots, the lowest ever in the Hong Kong District Council's history and the lowest among all elections since China took control of Hong Kong. The largest pro-Beijing party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) regained its status as the largest party in the district councils, winning 109 seats, while many smaller parties, which lacked strong community networks and resources, failed to win many seats.
In early July 2021, the government reportedly considered banning 230 councillors to take oath of office and would ask them return their accrued salaries which worth around a million dollars. Such reports triggered a mass resignation of more than 260 pro-democracy councillors, while eight other had been unseated as they were in custody or had left the city.[6]
Following four oath-taking ceremonies starting in early September, oaths taken by 49 District Councillors were ruled invalid without any explanation. Together with the councillors who resigned, fled and imprisoned, it left a total of more than 70 per cent seats in the 18 District Councils vacant. Under the amended Oaths and Declarations Ordinance, the disqualified District Councillors would be banned from standing in elections for the next five years.[7]
Indirectly elected (Electoral College of District Committees) (176)
Appointed (179)
On 2 May 2023, Chief Executive John Lee announced a major revamp of the District Council electoral system to prevent the councils from being "manipulated and paralysed" by those promoting "separatism" and violence, safeguard national security and implement the principle of "patriots running Hong Kong". Under the plan, the number of the elected seats will be significantly reduced to around 20 per cent, while each of the 40 per cent of the seats will be returned by indirect elections and appointed by the Chief Executive.[11]
A total of 88 directly-elected seats in 44 constituencies will be returned by double-seat single-vote system, while 176 indirectly-elected seats will be elected by members of the government-appointed District Committees, or "three committees" (Chinese: 三會), namely the District Fight Crime Committees (DFCCs), the District Fire Safety Committees (DFSCs), the Area Committees (ACs), in the respective district by block vote. All candidates must obtain three nominations from each of the three committees besides more than 50 local voters and confirm their eligibility through an eligibility review committee to decide whether a candidate complies with the legal requirements and conditions of upholding the Basic Law and bearing allegiance to the government.[12]
On 28 September, David Lok Kai-hong, chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC), said the opening hours for the District Council elections will run from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., an hour less when compared to the previous term in 2019 but the same as that of the Legislative Council election in 2021.[13]
Veteran litigant Kwok Cheuk-kin, who was also a member of the Democratic Party known as the "King of Judicial Review", filed an application for judicial review in November against the nomination system, arguing that some three-quarters of the candidates were also on three committees responsible for deciding who could stand, making it hard for non-committee members to get nominated.[14]
High Court Judge Russell Coleman reportedly said that it was "surprising" that most of the committee members had made nominations from among their own members, but dismissed Kwok's appeal dismissed, ruling that the it was "not sufficient" to conclude that it was only because of an unfairness in the nomination system that the pro-democracy politicians did not secure enough nominations. "What is shown is that members of the 3Cs [three committees] tend to favour themselves or their peers. But that is not necessarily inappropriate when the individual characteristic of members of the 3Cs (part of the reason they were appointed in the first place) is taken into account," Coleman said in the statement.[14][15]
New People's Party (NPP) and Civil Force: NPP, together with the regional-based Civil Force, will send 29 candidates to run for the election, including 17 running for geographical constituency direct elections and 12 running for District Committees constituency indirect election.[19]
Liberal Party: Liberals endorsed four candidates in the elected constituencies, all on the Hong Kong Island, and other three for the indirectly-elected seats.[20]
Roundtable: Led by former vice-chairman of the New People's Party Michael Tien, the party planned to send five candidates but struggled to gain nomination. Regina Ip, NPP chair, initially pledged to support Roundtable but the party later declined to endorse.[22] Only one of its members had got the number of nominations required to stand in the end.[23]
Path of Democracy (PoD): Convenor Ronny Tong said around six to seven of its party members expressed interest in running, but he reassessed that only one or two could be successfully nominated.[26]
Bauhinia Party: This local poll would be the first for the three-year-old party, expected to field five candidates.[27] But only one of its members eventually ran in the election.[28]
Nominations
The Electoral Affairs Commission received 400 nominations in the nomination period, 228 of which were running for the 176 seats in the District Committee constituencies indirectly elected by some 2,500 members of the "three committees" and 171 for the 88 seats in the 44 geographical constituencies directly elected 4.3 million registered voters.[23][29] None of the candidates was from the opposition camp, which first joined the local elections in 1985.[30][31] According to Hong Kong Free Press's calculation, more than 75 per cent of the geographical constituencies candidates were also members of the three committees which were responsible for nominating candidates.[23]
The pro-democracy parties which intended to run had experienced difficulties in seeking nominations from the members of the "three committees", many of which came from the pro-Beijing parties,[32][33] as the Home Affairs Department refused to disclose personal contact details citing the "privacy of personal data".[32]
The Democratic Party became the first remaining pro-democracy party to announce that they would contest in the election with six candidates, two less than expected.[34][35] However on 30 October, it announced that none of its candidates had succeeded in getting the nominations from the "three committees" required to run.[23][33][36] As a result, the party would be absent in the district council election for the first time since its establishment in 1994.[33][37]
Third Side, the only non-establishment party in the legislature, abandoned the campaign as three hopefuls could not receive enough nominations.[23]
Roundtable chairman Michael Tien and sole candidate Chong Ho-fung on election day
Even pro-Beijing legislator Michael Tien complained about candidates from his party Roundtable being unable to obtain nominations from the "three committees" members.[19] Roundtable had hoped to field five candidates, but only one of its members had got the number of nominations required to stand.[23]
Zheng Yanxiong, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong, on 30 October said there were "recognised standards" for patriots and “it would be impossible for someone, or some political parties, who were opposing Hong Kong and China, to become patriotic just for chanting certain slogans overnight".[30][36]
Turnout campaign
Election posters urging public to vote are seen across the city
Following the record-low turnout of the 2021 legislative election as a consequence of the opposition's boycott, some experts predicted a record-low voter turnout for the 2023 local elections. Officials insisted a high turnout does not equate to a successful election and that such a result would not be blindly pursued;[39] however, they also vowed to promote the local elections "by all means".[40] Dozens of promotional videos were published by the government; posters and leaflets urging the public to vote could also be found across the city.[41]
In November 2023, Chief Secretary for AdministrationEric Chan said that Hong Kong's 170,000 civil servants "are duty-bound to vote, and they should lead by example to let the public know about the importance of voting."[42] Pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) politician Starry Lee refused to predict the voter turnout, but said "I have received only positive feedback from residents" and that it was a "good sign" that election promoting was carried out "in a healthy way."[42]
Chief Executive John Lee also asked for civil servants to boost voter turnout, stating "It is also a civic responsibility to vote, that's why we have asked civil servants to demonstrate that civic responsibility to come out to vote."[43] Lee avoided answering a question on whether low voter turnout would discredit the new voting system, and both Secretary for Home and Youth AffairsAlice Mak and Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland AffairsErick Tsang said that low voter turnout was not necessarily a failure.[44]
Secretary for the Civil ServiceIngrid Yeung also appealed to retired civil servants to vote as "it is their civic responsibility to do so".[45] Amid reports about potential penalties for civil servants who do not cast a ballot, Eric Chan criticised on 3 December unspecified individuals for having "ulterior motives" of spreading false information online.[46]
Leung Chau-ting, the founder and chairman of the Federation of Civil Service Union, expressed concern over the government plan sending out thank-you card for people after casting their vote, noting the pressure felt by the civil servants due to the government and bureaux' overwhelming appeals, as there have never been any repeated calls by the government for civil officials to cast ballots in prior elections. In response, Eric Chan stressed the government would "definitely not" require civil servants to use the card as proof and called on people not to come up with conspiracy theories.[47]
The Hong Kong government on 28 November announced a series of activities, including outdoor music performances, a drone show and a Security Bureau-themed photograph exhibition, on 12 December, a day before the polling day, in an attempt to "further enhance the election atmosphere".[48] As the government designated the day following election as a school holiday after some schools in the past elections were affected due to a delay of vote counting,[49] pro-government members voiced concern that families could leave Hong Kong for vacations and hence hamper the turnout. In response the authorities said activities were under planning to attract students to stay.[50]
Special queues for elderlies or others in need, contentious proposal rejected in 2020,[51] was implemented in this election[52]
In December 2023, it was reported that the government would spend approximately HK$3.4 million on elderly care centers in order for them to help the elderly vote; in response, Legislative Councillor Doreen Kong cautioned that the government "should ensure that elderly people choose to go voluntarily" and that "the centres should also be sensitive as to whether they will affect the elderly people's voting preference when they walk them to the polling station."[53] Alice Mak later refuted the claim and argued that the subsidies would not affect fairness in the polls.[54]Civil Service Bureau also reportedly warned government outsourcing companies that not allowing sufficient time for staff to vote may undermine further bidding.[55]
Political commentator Sonny Lo Shiu-hing said that "On the surface, the government says the voting rate is not important, but in fact, what it is doing is obviously all about boosting the turnout. After all, the turnout rate reflects the election’s legitimacy to a certain degree."[56]
Under a special programme, the Hong Kong government also set up voting booths close to the border of Mainland China to allow Hongkongers living in Mainland China to more easily cross the border and vote.[57]
The election law which prohibits inciting others to boycott the election or cast a blank or invalid vote remains in place. A 38-year-old man was arrested, and later charged,[59] days before the poll by anti-graft ICAC officers, after the man allegedly reposted messages from social media inciting others to boycott the elections and call on others to put two ticks on their ballots, which would render them invalid.[60] The ICAC also placed the author of the post, overseas Hong Kong pundit Martin Oei onto a wanted list.[59]
Veteran activist Koo Sze-yiu had planned to stage a protest at the Registration and Electoral Office against an "unfair race" on Friday, citing a lack of candidates from the pro-democracy camp. Koo informed the REO about his demonstration, but he was apprehended by the national security police before he left home on suspicion of attempting or preparing to do an act with a seditious intention.[61] He was later charged and remanded awaiting trial.[62]
The police arrested three members of pro-democracy League of Social Democrats on the poll day, suspected of inciting others to intervene in the District Council elections. Party chairwoman Chan Po-ying and vice-chairs Dickson Chow and Yu Wai-pan were heading to protest outside a polling station where John Lee was expected to cast his vote.[63] Three were also handcuffed on the same day, including a couple for inciting others on social media to put three or more ticks on the ballot paper. Another arrestee, who reposted posts inciting election boycott by former councillor Lee Man-ho, was charged. An arrest warrant was issued against Lee, who had self-exiled to Britain.[64]
Technical glitch
David Lok Kai-hong, chairman of Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC), said the Electronic Poll Register computer system "unexpectedly"[65] failed at 7:42 p.m., which impeded the issuing of ballots, and by 8:12 p.m. all stations had switched to printed-form final registers for issuing ballots. The Commission said there was no evidence of a cyberattack. As a result, Lok said that polling stations will be open until midnight, one and a half hours beyond the original 10:30 p.m.[66]
As the authorities also stopped updating the hourly voter turnout as it may be on track for a record-low turnout, critics questioned the decision to extend voting hours. Lok denied that the arrangement could amount to a measure to boost voter turnout, but expressed regret over the glitch.[66] EAC also came under fire with pro-Beijing camp demanding answers and insisting their candidates have been affected. NPP said the failure deterred evening voters, while FTU said the resulting long queues at polling stations put off voters. Legislator Priscilla Leung of BPA said about 200 voters left a polling station in Shek Kip Mei during the system failure and fewer than 20 returned later to cast their ballots.[65]
In the early morning on Monday, John Lee said he was "highly concerned" about the technical failure and that a task force led by Senior Counsel Bernard Man, the EAC, and police would be set up to investigate the cause. Later that morning at an emotional press briefing, Lok, choking up as he spoke, apologised to candidates, campaign teams and voters, saying he was willing to take responsibility for the blunder. He also said he felt guilty towards the staff, and that the commission would face all criticism seriously, but again rejected claims of attempting to boost the turnout rate. Lok insisted a 90-minute extension was necessary to allow voters who had headed home after learning about the glitch to cast their ballots.[65]
In January 2024, after the elections produced a record-low turnout, lawmakers Priscilla Leung said that the turnout would have been better if it were not for the technical glitches.[67]
Interim investigation by the commission believed the failure of the electronic poll register system was not due to external attacks but rather problems with computer programs that unnecessarily tied up server resources. The investigation found the utilisation rate of the system server’s CPU had reached almost 100%, due to design issues with two programs of the system, which caused computation time to increase as polling went along. Another design issue of the system caused some work requests to unnecessarily take up substantial server resources, creating problems with issuing paper ballots, Man said.[68]
Results
Only 1.19 million voted in the election, marking the lowest in Hong Kong local polls
With only 1.19 million voters casting ballots and 27.5% voter turnout, the election broke the record for the lowest turnout among Hong Kong District Council elections.[69] Despite the lower than rumoured target of 30% set by Chinese authorities,[70]Tam Yiu-chung, a major pro-Beijing politician, said the turnout was in line with expectations.[71]
The largest pro-Beijing party, the DAB, became the largest party in the District Councils, having previously held that title from 2007 until the 2019 elections. The DAB was able to have one candidate elected in all except three geographical constituencies, and also won the largest percentage of the indirectly elected seats. Pro-labour FTU ranked second with 18 seats in direct elections, but was outperformed by the NPP in the District Committees seats.
Small parties with a sole candidate were unsuccessful as Roundtable, Path of Democracy, and Bauhinia Party failed to win any seats. Other minor parties such as New Prospect for Hong Kong and Professional Power were only able to win one seat each. Political commentator James Sung said larger parties have stronger community networks and human resources in the districts, with a greater ability to reach out to and influence voters.[71]
The authorities revealed in the next month that an error was made in calculating the turnout, which was revised from 27.54% to 27.59%, 2,138 votes more than was previously announced, due to the manual calculation of paper ballots by electoral staff, with electors who voted at polling stations in correctional facilities and police stations were omitted from the calculation. David Lok stressed that those omitted ballots had been included in the number of votes obtained by each candidate, and dismissed concerns that the poll result could be legally challenged in light of the latest revelation, insisting all votes had been accurately counted under public scrutiny.[68]
Chief Executive John Lee on 12 December appointed 179 people to the District Councils. The registration of the 27 incumbent chairmen of Rural Committees as ex-officio members was confirmed as valid on the same day.[72] The DAB had a total of 147 seats after Lee appointed 38 DAB members to the councils, further consolidating its status as the largest party.[73]
Ming Pao found that 409 new councillors were also the members of the government-appointed three committees, accounting for 87% of the 470 councillors, while 346 or 74% of them were also members of the district-based Care Teams, which are also appointed by the government. 192 new councillors were the defeated candidates in the previous 2019 elections.[74]
The government held an oath-taking ceremony for members of the seventh-term District Councils and the councillors assumed their offices on 1 January, with Lee saying during the ceremony that the new members must support the legislation of the planned security law, known locally as Article 23.[75]
Cost
The total cost was HK$1.2 billion, or about 90% more than the 2019 election.[76] Calculations show that it cost around HK$1,000 per vote.[77]
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