Hong Kong Democrats Score Landslide Victory In Local Elections Amid Political Crisis

By Dilip -
(Reuters) - Pro-democracy candidates in Hong Kong romped to a landslide and symbolic majority in district council elections after residents turned out in record numbers on Sunday to vote following six months of anti-government protests in the embattled city.

Hong Kong voters deliver landslide victory for pro-democracy campaigners

In a rare weekend lull in the unrest that has embroiled the financial hub, democratic candidates across the city of 7.4 million secured more than half of the 452 district council seats for the first time, against a strongly resourced and mobilized pro-establishment opposition. Hong Kong’s district councils control some spending and decide a range of local livelihood issues such as transport, and they also serve as an important grassroots platform to radiate political influence in the city ruled by communist China.

Some winning candidates said the result was akin to a vote of support for the protest movement, and could raise the pressure on Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing chief executive, Carrie Lam, amid the city’s worst political crisis in decades. “This is the power of democracy. This is a democratic tsunami,” said Tommy Cheung, a former student protest leader who won a seat in the Yuen Long district close to China’s border… 
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/hong-kong-democrats-landslide-victory-local-elections_n_5ddb08ece4b0913e6f6e53b2

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