Hong Kong election sees many upsets and many firsts

IN what was the most closely fought election in Hong Kong's history, a record turnout on Sunday, an electorate politicised by the Umbrella Movement of 2014, and last-minute pan-democratic strategy changes enabled the opposition to thwart hopes of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying to produce a legislature with a two-thirds pro-government majority, which would strip the pan-democrats of their ability to veto constitutional changes.

The election was marked by several stunning upsets. Social activists who back localism, if not independence, have won a bloc of seats, thereby emerging as a new political force, generally aligned with the traditional pan-democrats but very much with their own thinking and approaches vis-à-vis the Hong Kong and Beijing authorities.

As new members of the pan-democratic camp, they will influence its positioning and strategy, especially since the biggest vote-getter in the election was social activist Eddie Chu Hoi-dick, who amassed over 84,000 votes but had attracted little attention of the mainstream media. Another surprise was Nathan Law, a student leader in the 2014 protest movement, who also won a seat. At 23, he is the youngest person ever elected into the legislature. Contrary to general expectations, Ricky Wong, a media entrepreneur, failed to garner a seat.