The Hong Kong Legislative Council by-elections, claimed to be a referendum on universal suffrage for the special administrative region, attracted a record low turnout on Sunday, reported the South China Morning Post. Only 579,000 voters – a mere 17.1% of the eligible voting population – turned out to voice their opinions as top government officials discouraged attendance. The elections were held in response to January resignations of five pan-democrat lawmakers who gambled their positions in faith that Hong Kong’s populace would voice their overwhelming support for democratic progress through the by-elections. The five officials were easily re-elected, but Beijing, government-friendly parties, Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and his ministers declared a boycott, and the total vote count amounted to 300,000 votes fewer than the share achieved in the 2008 Legislative Council election.
Categories