Main Hong Kong parties big winners in district council poll as voters rally round brand names even if candidates are unknown quantities

Hong Kong's leading pro-establishment parties emerged victorious in the inaugural 'patriots-only' district council election. Observers noted that voters gravitated towards familiar and trusted parties in the absence of opposition contenders. The dominance of major parties in the race for the 88 seats, out of 470, became evident after polling stations closed at midnight on Sunday. The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) was the unequivocal winner, having fielded a candidate in each of the 44 geographical constituencies, losing only in three, and securing 41. 6 per cent of the vote.

The DAB also achieved landslide victories on several fronts, such as the triumph of DAB candidate Yiu Ming in Fanling's Wu Tip Shan constituency, where he garnered more than two-thirds of the local vote, or 20,053 ballots. The Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) was the runner-up in the citywide contest, securing 17. 6 per cent of the vote and winning 18 seats, with only seven of its candidates losing. Among the 10 candidates fielded by the Business and Professionals Alliance, four secured seats on the city's district councils.

However, the New People's Party struggled to win the popular vote, accounting for only 8. 5 per cent of ballots cast and seeing just five of its 17 contenders win seats on the municipal bodies. Party chief Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee expressed satisfaction with the result, but acknowledged the 'substantially enlarged' constituencies posed a challenge to campaign efforts. Under the previous district council system, 452 of the 479 seats were directly elected and the remainder were filled by rural leaders, with the opposition and pro-establishment camps vying for each spot. The government earlier this year overhauled the municipal bodies to 'depoliticise' the system and ensure it aligned with Beijing's 'patriots-only' policy direction. The revamp also saw the 452 constituencies merged into 88 zones, each represented by two district councillors, with voters able to select one candidate on their ballot forms.