Record number of votes cast in Hong Kong

About 2 million registered voters cast their ballots for the Legislative Council on Sunday, according to government data, in an election that could determine Hong Kong's future.

Voter turnout was at 58 percent, compared to 45.2 percent in 2008. Some of the polling stations saw voters still waiting to enter after the official closing time of 10:30 p.m. local time, according to the "South China Morning Post."

Nathan Law, one of the protest leaders in the 2014 Umbrella Revolution, appears to be one of the major winners in the election. The 23-year-old's party, Demosisto, which he formed with teen protest leader Joshua Wong (photo above, with image of Law), wants to see a referendum on "self-determination" of Hong Kong's future.

With 90 percent of ballots counted, Law was expected to win a seat in the Hong Kong Island constituency after receiving the second-highest number of votes.

A surprise winner in the traditionally conservative and pro-Beijing New Territories West was social activist Eddie Chu Hoi-dick, who took more than 70,000 votes. He is not affiliated with any party.

The race is being closely watched, with residents fearing they have gradually been losing their freedom to speak critically and openly about the governments in Hong Kong and mainland China following massive crackdowns on protests in recent years.

Full results are expected by late Monday local time.

Divisive vote

Six candidates pulled out just days before the election in order to strengthen votes for the alliance of pro-democracy parties - the pan-democrats - who have been fighting an uphill struggle to keep their power to veto a controversial electoral reform bill.

The pan-democrat lawmakers currently control 27 of 70 seats, compared with 43 held by lawmakers friendly to Beijing. If the democrats were to lose four seats overall, they would end up forfeiting their one-third voting bloc needed to veto bills, including the electoral reform bill.

The bill, which triggered the 79-day Umbrella Revolution, would empower a majority pro-Beijing committee to pre-select the candidates running for the city's top chief executive position, benefitting Hong Kong's widely unpopular Beijing-backed leader, Leung Chun-ying, and his government.

Pro-Beijing supporters, meanwhile, have been accused of offering financial incentives to potential supporters, while also bussing in former Hong Kong residents living in mainland China to vote in the election. There have also been accusations of fraud, with several voters claiming their registrations had been tampered with, placing them in voting districts where they currently do not live.

Compromise democracy

For the last two decades, Hong Kong has maintained a legal and governance system separate to that of mainland China as part of a treaty that saw the territory returned from Britain in 1997. Hong Kong was handed back to China under a "one country, two systems" agreement intended to protect its freedoms while granting partial autonomy for 50 years. However, many believe the deal has failed.

In Hong Kong, the public has the right to directly elect half of the 70 lawmakers, who are known as the geographic constituency. The other half is selected by members of professional associations, district councilors and trade groups and is known as the functional constituency.

The government's candidate list showed 213 candidates competing for 35 seats in the five geographical constituencies. For the functional constituency, 43 candidates will run for 18 seats.

Some campaigners have taken to demanding independence for Hong Kong, while others have spoken out in favor of holding a referendum to determine the city's future.

ss, jm/cmk (dpa, AFP, AP)