Beijing defends HK’s ‘patriots only’ polls amid low turnout

30.20% of voters cast their vote, down from 58.28% in 2016

Pro-Beijing candidates have swept Hong Kong's “patriots only” polls, the first elections held after electoral reforms that essentially ruled out the participation of most of the pro-democracy opposition candidates in the Special Administrative Region.

The central government in Beijing hailed Sunday’s polls and released a detailed white paper on Monday defending its political governance of Hong Kong.

Its critics in Hong Kong, however, pointed to the record low turnout — the lowest in any election since the 1997 handover — as underlining public disenchantment with the new electoral process. In March, Beijing passed legislation that significantly reduced the share of directly elected representatives in Hong Kong’s Legislative Council, from 50% to 22%, with the rest nominated, and also introduced a candidate eligibility review committee to screen those running for office.