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