2019 Hong Kong local elections

Some pro-democracy District Councillors accused the EAC of gerrymandering, stating that the borders of their constituencies were altered "unreasonably" to adversely affect their parties' election prospects. EAC chairman Barnabas Fung responded that the changes were based purely on an objective calculation. "Factors with political implications would definitely not be taken into consideration," Fung said.[6]

In April 2017, Occupy Central co-founder Benny Tai proposed the "Project Storm" strategy to win the majority of the District Council seats for the pro-democrats in the coming election. He stated that by winning a majority of the some 400 District Council seats, the pro-democracy camp could gain an additional 117 seats of the District Council subsectors on the 1,200-member Election Committee which elects the Chief Executive. Tai believed that by making it harder for Beijing to manipulate the Chief Executive election, it would compel Beijing to restart the stalled political reform after its restrictive proposal was voted down in 2015 in the aftermath of the Occupy protests.[7]

Power for Democracy, a group that coordinated different parties and groups in the pro-democracy camp, worked with pro-democrats to identify suitable candidates for all 452 constituencies. The group also held rounds of non-binding primaries to select a candidate if more than one pro-democrat was interested in running in the same constituency. However, the camp still risked doubling up in about 30 constituencies.[8]

In mid 2019, the Carrie Lam administration pushed forward the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019 to establish a mechanism that would allow the extradition of fugitives to any territory not covered by existing extradition treaties, including Taiwan, Mainland China and Macau. The proposal's purported purpose was to fill a legal loophole that allowed a Hong Kong suspect involved in a homicide case not to be extradited to Taiwan in 2018.[9] The proposed bill raised grave concerns from various sectors of society, including lawyers, journalists, businesses, as well as foreign governments, who feared the heightened risk that Hong Kong citizens, dissidents, and foreign nationals passing through the city without safeguards of the local courts could be sent for trial to Mainland China, an authoritarian regime where courts are under direct Chinese political control.[10]

Starting from June, rounds of demonstrations were attended by hundreds of thousands of people. The government first suspended the bill, and later proposed the withdrawal of the bill in September, which officially took place in October. The pro-Beijing parties, who were among the strongest advocates of the bill, worried that their support of the controversial bill as well as the abrupt U-turn would cost them votes in the upcoming District Council elections and the next year's Legislative Council election, risking a repeat of their devastating defeat in the 2003 District Council elections following the highly controversial national security legislation, which sparked massive protests across the city in 2003.[11] There were also reports that the government was looking into the possibility of cancelling polls in areas where serious protests took place, or even postponing the elections altogether by invoking the Emergency Regulations Ordinance.[12][13] The election was widely seen as a referendum on Lam's government and in particular an indication of the measure of support for the protesters.[14]

Registration drives are uncommon in Hong Kong, but promotion from campaigners led tens of thousands of new voters to register during mass protests against the controversial extradition bill, pouncing on an opportunity to bolster the democratic opposition's prospects in the upcoming elections.[15] Over 386,000 newly registered electors were counted, an election cycle record turnout since the handover of Hong Kong.[16] The number of registered voters between the ages of 18 and 35 jumped by more than 12 per cent compared to 2018.[17]

While the number of registered voters had been increasing steadily, large social movements and demonstrations have a tendency to galvanise registration.[18] In 2004, 303,885 people had registered after half a million people took to the streets to protest against a government-proposed national security law criminalising "sedition", which was based on Article 23 of the Basic Law. In 2015, 262,633 people registered as voters after the 2014 Occupy protests.[18]

According to the Registration and Electoral Office (REO) under the EAC, the number of registered voters in the final registers for 2019 was 4,132,977, a record high since the handover of Hong Kong.[19][16]

Over a hundred pro-democracy candidates launched an election rally at Victoria Park on 2 November, citing the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance which allowed for election meetings to be held in public, following the police rejection of the organisers' initial demonstration application.[25]

Soon after the assembly started, the police quickly declared the rally an unauthorised assembly and dispersed attendees using means such as tear gas, pepper spray, and water cannons. Three pro-democrat candidates, Osman Cheng Chung-hang, Richard Chan Chun-chit and Man Nim-chi, were seen being taken away by the police. During the operation, officers pepper-sprayed Chan to subdue him, prompting calls from rally-goers for his release.[26]

The protests continued with clashes emerging between the police and protesters, where protesters responded to the police crackdown by throwing petrol bombs, vandalising MTR stations and shops seen as sympathetic to the Beijing government, spraying graffiti on walls and building barricades on streets, and capping the 21st week of anti-government demonstrations.[27]

Both pro-democrat and pro-Beijing candidates were physically attacked in the run-up to the election. In late September, Stanley Ho Wai-hong of the Labour Party, who was running in the Pak Sha Wan constituency, was attacked by four men dressed in white that were carrying metal rods. He suffered severe head injuries and several fractures to both of his hands.[28] On 16 October, Jimmy Sham, the convenor of the Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF) and the candidate for the Lek Yuen constituency, was hospitalised after being attacked on Arran Street in Mong Kok by at least four men wielding hammers and spanners.[29] Pro-democracy candidates Jocelyn Chau Hui-yan and Jannelle Rosalynne Leung, who were running for the City Garden and Yuet Wah constituencies respectively, were also attacked by pro-Beijing men.[30]

On 3 November, during a protest at Cityplaza, the Democratic Party's Andrew Chiu, defending his Tai Koo Shing West seat, was stabbed by a pro-Beijing Mandarin-speaking male with a knife when he tried to stop a fight after the attacker had already assaulted several people.[31] His left ear was partially bitten off by the attacker,[32] and he was forced to undergo ear re-attachment surgery in hospital, which was ultimately unsuccessful.[33]

On the morning of 6 November, pro-Beijing Legislative Councillor Junius Ho was also stabbed by a man with a knife while campaigning for re-election to the Tuen Mun District Council in his Lok Tsui constituency. The attacker shouted abusive expletives at Ho, accusing him of being involved in the mob attacks in Yuen Long on 21 July. Ho received a stab injury to his chest and was later hospitalised.[34] Ho's assistant and the attacker were also injured by the knife before the attacker was finally arrested.[30]

There were several self-proclaimed pro-democrat candidates who were later found to be members of pro-Beijing groups and organisations, who contested the elections in the hope of snatching votes from legitimate pro-democracy candidates that were endorsed by the pro-democracy camp. For example, in the Tai Pat Tin East constituency, there was a minor candidate named Lau Hin-ming, who was ahead of the Democratic Party and Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) candidates. Lau used the "Liberate Hong Kong, the revolution of our times" slogan in his electoral messages, but was eventually found to be an member of an executive committee belonging to the Federation of The Youth Power of Kwai Tsing, a sub-group of the pro-Beijing Federation of New Territories Youth.[35]

Some voters were found to have no knowledge about the candidates that they have nominated. For example, in the Lei Cheng Uk constituency, candidate Lam Ho-nam was ahead of Kong Kwai-sang from the pro-democratic Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood (ADPL) and Chan Keng-chau from the pro-Beijing Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong (BPA). However, a voter who nominated Lam claimed that he had never actually intended to nominate him. Instead, he signed an endorsement for Chan Keng-chau because he was a member of the Lei Cheng Uk Resident Association, while Chan has been the chairman of the association. Pro-democracy media sources allege that Chan had transferred the nomination to Lam, in the hope of decreasing the votes of Kong Kwai-sang, though no substantial proof was supplemented to this claim.[36]

Apple Daily reported that they had received complaints from the students of Jinan University, who were requested by academic staff and counsellors to vote for pro-Beijing candidates, with them being promised free transportation if they do so. University staff members were able to locate the constituencies in which the students resided.[37]

Apple Daily also reported that Wong Yiu-chung, a pro-Beijing candidate from the BPA who was contesting the election for the Wah Lai constituency, had offered free coach rides to voters as an incentive to vote for him. The coaches were adorned with posters of Wong, and potentially constitutes an illegal election-related expense.[38]

Stand News reported that in the Fu Tai constituency, there were alleged voluntary coach services offered to elderly voters by pro-Beijing parties. Some voters reported the services were offered by Manwell Chan, a pro-Beijing Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) candidate, and also stated that they were asked to vote for Chan in exchange for said ride, though no tangible proof could be found to support this claim .[39]

Before election:

Change in composition:

 Summary of the 24 November 2019 District Councils of Hong Kong election results

Political Affiliation			Popular vote	%	% ±	Standing	Elected	±
		Democratic Party	362,275	12.36	1.20	99	91	54
		Civic Party	141,713	4.83	1.21	36	32	20
		Neo Democrats	87,923	3.00	0.08	20	19	7
		Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood	77,099	2.63	1.19	21	19	7
		Power for Democracy	69,764	2.38	2.11	22	17	13
		Team Chu Hoi Dick of New Territories West	31,369	1.07	-	9	7	7
		Labour Party	28,036	0.96	0.60	7	7	4
		Community Sha Tin	25,509	0.87	-	6	5	1
		Tuen Mun Community Network	20,086	0.69	-	5	4	4
		Community Alliance	17,635	0.60	-	5	4	3
		Neighbourhood and Worker's Service Centre	16,176	0.55	0.56	4	4	2
		Tin Shui Wai Connection	15,998	0.55	-	4	4	4
		Civic Passion	14,326	0.49	0.28	5	2	2
		Tai Po Democratic Alliance	13,185	0.45	-	4	4	4
		Community March	12,100	0.41	-	5	5	5
		Tsz Wan Shan Constructive Power	10,160	0.35	-	2	2	2
		Democratic Alliance	9,886	0.34	0.03	3	2	1
		Deliberation Tsuen Wan	9,516	0.32	-	3	2	1
		Action 18	9,006	0.31	-	3	2	2
		Tseung Kwan O Pioneers	8,989	0.31	-	2	2	2
		League of Social Democrats	8,384	0.29	0.16	3	2	2
		Sai Kung Commons	4,677	0.16	-	2	2	2
		People Power	8,149	0.28	-	2	1	1
		Empowering Hong Kong	5,590	0.19	-	1	1	1
		Fu Sun Generation	5,486	0.19	-	1	1	1
		HTTH Environmental Concern Group	5,389	0.18	-	1	1	1
		North District Blueprint	5,288	0.18	-	1	1	1
		Tsing Yi People	4,727	0.16	-	1	1	1
		Sha Tin Community Vision	4,691	0.16	-	1	1	1
		Luen Wo United	4,491	0.15	-	1	1	1
		Lung Mun Concern Group	4,410	0.15	-	1	1	1
		Cheung Sha Wan West Front	4,281	0.15	-	1	1	1
		Shau Kei Wan East Future	4,204	0.14	-	1	1	1
		Choi Hung Estate Social Service Association	3,523	0.12	-	1	1	1
		Cheung Sha Wan Community Establishment Power	3,359	0.11	-	1	1	1
		Unity of San Hui	3,276	0.11	-	1	1	1
		Tseung Kwan O Shining	3,089	0.11	-	1	1	1
		Tsuen Wan Community Network	2,788	0.10	0.01	1	1	1
		Victoria Social Association	2,640	0.09	-	2	1	1
		Independent democrats and others	604,890	20.63	-	226	133	100
Total for pro-democracy camp			1,674,083	57.10	16.90	515	388	265
		Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong	492,042	16.78	4.61	181	21	96
		Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions	128,796	4.39	1.72	43	5	21
		New People's Party	79,975	2.73	2.51	28	0	13
		Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong	66,504	2.27	0.37	25	3	16
		Liberal Party	27,684	0.94	0.80	11	5	3
		Roundtable	26,055	0.89	-	12	2	5
		Federation of Public Housing Estates	19,495	0.66	0.42	7	3	1
		Civil Force	7,164	0.24	-	3	0	2
		Kowloon West New Dynamic	3,052	0.10	0.71	2	0	0
		Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions	1,734	0.06	0.16	1	0	1
		Pro-Beijing Independents	380,529	12.98	3.70	185	23	85
Total for pro-Beijing camp			1,233,030	42.06	12.55	498	62	242
		Non-aligned independents and others	24,623	0.83	-	77	2	1
Total			2,931,745	100.00	-	1,090	452	21
Total valid votes			2,931,745	99.59	-	Elected	452	-
Invalid votes			12,097	0.41	-	Ex officio	27	-
Total votes / turnout			2,943,842	71.23	24.22	Total	479	-
Registered voters			4,132,977	100.00	32.44
Source