Dec. 20 (UPI) — Hong Kong saw a historically low voter turnout for its 2021 pro-government legislative election after all ballots were counted on Monday.
The election was geared toward patriots only, held under a new system revamped by Beijing that marginalizes democrats.
Only 30.2% of voters, or 1.3 million, showed up for the election, marking a 5.6-point decrease since the last lowest voter election in 1995 while Hong Kong was still under British colonial rule.
Pro-establishment candidates secured 89 of 90 legislative seats.
Pro-democracy candidates lost by wide margins. Adrian Lau Cheuk-yu lost by over 70,000 votes, while Jason Poon lost by nearly 50,000 votes.
The only non-pro-establishment candidate to win a seat was Tik Chi-yuen, founder of the self-declared centrist party Third Side.
The patriots-only election comes after Beijing passed legislation in May to reduce democratic representation.
All candidates were vetted by China’s government prior to running.
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken along with foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Britain expressed “grave concern over the erosion of democratic elements” of the election.
“Actions that undermine Hong Kong’s rights, freedoms, and a high degree of autonomy are threatening our shared wish to see Hong Kong succeed,” they said in a joint statement.