A select group of Hong Kong residents on Sunday voted for members of the Election Committee that will choose the city’s leader in polls next year.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam called the election "very meaningful". It is the first ballot held under reforms brought in to ensure participation of candidates loyal to Beijing.
The Election Committee will select 40 of 90 politicians in the city’s legislature during elections in December, as well as elect the Hong Kong leader during polls in March next year.
Nearly 4,900 voters representing different professions and industries went to polls on Sunday under a heavy police presence to choose among just 412 candidates for 364 seats in the 1,500-strong Election Committee. Other seats were uncontested or held by people chosen based on their titles.
“Today’s Election Committee elections are very meaningful as it is the first elections held after we have improved the electoral system to ensure that only patriots can take office,” Ms Lam said.
It is not yet known if Ms Lam will seek reelection in March. She said the new Election Committee would be broadly representative as it included more grassroots organisations and associations that represented Hong Kong citizens who live and work in mainland China.
In May, the legislature amended Hong Kong’s electoral laws to ensure that only “patriots” – people who are loyal to China and the semi-autonomous territory – will rule the city. The committee also was expanded to 1,500 members, from 1,200, and the number of direct voters for committee seats was reduced from about 246,000 to less than 8,000.
The restructured electoral process ensures a vast majority of the Election Committee will be largely pro-Beijing candidates. They are likely to choose a chief executive and nearly half of legislators who are aligned with the ruling Chinese Communist Party.
Sunday’s vote was taking place at five polling stations heavily surrounded by police. About 6,000 police officers would be stationed to guard the polls, outnumbering the registered voters, the South China Morning Post reported.
Results were expected on Sunday night.
Four activists from pro-democracy political party League of Social Democrats staged a small protest near the polling station in the Wan Chai neighbourhood. They laid out banners criticising the “small circle election” as having a pretence of representing public opinion.
The four were stopped and searched by the police.
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
Leading all-time NBA scorers
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38,387
Karl Malone 36,928
Kobe Bryant 33,643
Michael Jordan 32,292
LeBron James 31,425
Wilt Chamberlain 31,419
Company profile
Name: GiftBag.ae
Based: Dubai
Founded: 2011
Number of employees: 4
Sector: E-commerce
Funding: Self-funded to date
Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
