Hong Kong’s pro-democracy activists and protesters scored a major victory this month when the pro-democracy bloc of candidates scored a majority of seats in the local district council elections, winning 388 out of 479 seats total. The pro-Beijing (or pro-establishment bloc), which favors close relations with the Chinese government, won only 62 seats, or just under 13% of the total. To compare, the pro-Beijing bloc held a majority of seats prior to the election.
Because of the first-past-the post system in Hong Kong’s district council elections, in which candidates are elected to represent specific districts, pro-democracy bloc-won seats are over-represented compared to the percentage of those who voted for those candidates; pro-democracy candidates managed to win just under 60% of the vote. While pro-democracy voters outnumbered those candidates who support the Chinese government’s increased role in governing the area, the population still has a large share of the population who may hold unfavorable attitudes towards those who seek to distance Hong Kong from Beijing’s control.
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