HONG KONG - The people of Hong Kong head to the polls on Sunday (Dec 19) to choose who they want to send to the legislature under the "patriots-only" system.

A total of 153 candidates are vying for 90 Legislative Council (Legco) seats in the geographical, functional and Election Committee constituencies.

Only the 20 seats in the geographical sector will be filled by direct elections.

As at 9.30pm, slightly over 29 per cent of the eligible 4.5 million voters had cast their ballot in the geographical constituencies, while voter turnout was almost 31 per cent in the functional constituencies.  About 98 per cent of 1,448 members had voted in the Election Committee constituency. 

The voting process was generally smooth at the polling stations. These include the three border-crossing booths, with some organisations hiring coaches to ferry voters to cast their ballot.

With the pro-establishment camp dominating the Legco race, the key pan-democratic parties sitting out and only a dozen or so candidates who call themselves non-pro-establishment, observers are not expecting any surprises.

The electoral system overhaul passed by the Hong Kong government in May meant that any candidate running in city elections must be cleared by a dedicated screening committee and certified a patriot first before he can run.

After casting her vote at a polling station in Central, Chief Executive Carrie Lam told reporters that no target on voter turnout has been set. But she did request that the election be conducted in a fair, open, competitive, honest and efficient manner.

“I don’t have any particular expectation, and I would say that the government has not set any target for voter turnout rate, not for this election, not for previous elections because there are a combination of factors that will affect voter turnout rate in any election,” she said. 

“In the 2019 District Council elections, we were in a situation where people were very fearful of things happening around in society. There were still a lot of riots, petrol bombs and intimidation and illegal activities happening, and this is not the environment that will produce what we call, or what we regard, as democracy, that is the interest of people,” she added. 

Mrs Lam also promised to work with the new Legco members and to listen to what they have to say so that policies reflect what the people want and build a better future for Hong Kong.

Metres away from the polling station, three members of the League of Social Democrats raised banners and protested as Mrs Lam was casting her vote and speaking to the media.

The trio chanted slogans such as “I want universal suffrage” and “Return me my voting rights”, besides shouting “Shame on you, Carrie Lam”. 

Some voters were spotted queueing outside polling stations ahead of the scheduled opening at 8.30am to beat the crowd.

Among the early birds was 67-year-old Mr Wan, who declined to give his full name. He was at a Central polling station to cast his ballot before heading to work at a construction site.

“The atmosphere is very tense this time round and there are many more officers around than in previous elections,” he said, adding that he hopes the new lawmakers will solve issues in traffic, housing and economic development. 

Another voter who wanted to be identified as Mr Lee said the process is much smoother this time than previous years. “Last time, you still had to match your details, but now things are computerised so it’s much smoother.” 

Asked what his expectations are with the new Legco, Mr Lee, 75, said: “I hope they will do some work and not turn into a rubbish legislature.”

He added that the biggest problems in Hong Kong are housing and medical services. He said there is severe shortage of medical staff and doctors, and this has affected patients’ treatment.

More than 650 polling booths islandwide and in penal institutions have been set up for the big day.

Officials have also arranged for Hong Kong residents living on the mainland to cast their ballot at border crossing booths. Up to 111,000 residents who are registered can do so.

Security has also been tightened, with the police deploying 10,000 officers to ensure the process is orderly.

The authorities have so far arrested 10 people, two of whom have been charged with inciting others to cast blank votes - a move that Security Secretary Chris Tang had warned could breach the national security law.

To avoid a repeat of the Sept 19 Election Committee election - there was a major delay, where it took more than 14 hours to count just 4,380 ballots - a record 38,000 staff will be stationed at polling booths to help voters and ensure a smooth process.

On average, the voter turnout rate in the past six Legco elections was 51 per cent. It peaked at 58 per cent in 2016, two years after the Yellow Umbrella movement, where student protesters occupied the Central district as they demanded universal suffrage.

But officials fear that a low turnout could diminish the legitimacy of the new Legco, and have repeatedly urged people to head to the polls.

Associate Professor Alfred Wu of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore noted that globally, voting rates have been declining.

That said, he believes the pro-Beijing camp will declare it to be a good race if the voter turnout is about 40 per cent.

"If the turnout is low at about 20 per cent to 30 per cent, then they will say foreign forces are still at work in Hong Kong," said Prof Wu.

Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang on Saturday said some foreign forces had appealed to people to cast blank votes. Others said a low turnout would mean that the new electoral system is a failure.

But Mr Tsang dismissed these talks, saying this group will not succeed.

Meanwhile, Chief Secretary John Lee urged the public to vote in Sunday's polls to stop foreign agents and destructive forces from prevailing.

The polls are open from 8.30am to 10.30pm, with the Election Committee constituency results expected to be in before the geographical and functional constituencies ones.

Chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission Barnabas Fung expects results to be in by Monday noon.