In the district elections in Hong Kong, more people had already gone to the polls around noon (local time) than in total in the previous elections in 2015. The elections are a measure of the popularity of Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s highest executive, where has been protested against her policy for months.

Government data shows that around 3.30 pm local time more than 1.9 million people had already voted, which equates to 47 percent of those entitled to vote. In the previous elections, a total of 1.47 million Hong Kong people went to the polls.

Many voters would be afraid that ballot boxes will close early when the protests flare up. There was regular violence in the protests of the past months.

The first results are expected around midnight (Hong Kong time). The protesters hope that the election results clearly show that residents of the city want less interference from Beijing.

During the vote, the Chinese-backed Lamb promised that the government would “listen better” to the views of the representatives of the different districts.
Do not fall back into chaotic situation

She added: “I hope that today’s stability and peace is not only on election day, but that it also shows that Hong Kong does not want to fall back into a chaotic situation,” Lam said.

Due to the anti-Chinese protests, government buildings, companies and schools had to be closed on some days. The police then deployed tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons in response to demonstrators who threw gas bombs and stones and sometimes even used arrows and bows.

In Sunday’s elections, voters can choose from 1,104 candidates, who can get one of the 452 seats. The majority of these seats are now in the hands of politicians who favor Beijing.