Hong Kong residents cast the last of their votes as the city’s mock election wrapped up on Sunday (March 19).
More than 50,000 people voted at polling stations across the city and on a new online platform, PopVote, over the past two weeks. Turnout numbers were much lower than the one million people organizers had hoped for.
Under the city’s mini-constitution Hong Kong is promised universal suffrage. However an electoral package to allow a direct vote, but only for candidates pre-screened by a pro-Beijing committee was vetoed in 2015.
Currently all candidates have to be approved by a 1,200-strong Election Committee, largely made up of pro-Beijing establishment figures, which will then vote from among them for a new leader. The election will take place on March 26.
(REUTERS)
