Hong Kong to hold first vote since protests began

Bloomberg

Millions of Hong Kong residents will vote on Sunday in local elections, marking their first chance to weigh in at the polls after five months of increasingly violent protests calling for greater democracy in the former British colony.
Ahead of the District Council election, Hong Kong officials warned the vote could be postponed after some candidates came under attack and the city was paralysed as protesters blocked roads and riot cops laid siege to a university. Police are dispatching at least two officers clad in riot gear to each polling booth, all of which are set to close at 10:30 pm. Results are expected on Monday.
The vote comes at a time of unprecedented political polarisation in the city, with divisions hardening as the protests turn more violent. “It’s kind of a referendum on the government and everything that’s happened over the past five months,” said Chi-Jia Tschang, who is now a senior director in the Hong Kong office of BowerGroupAsia.