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Bloomberg
Voting started in Hong Kong for the primaries of pro-democracy opposition parties, after police raided a polling body working with the movement the night before.
Almost 60,000 people voted in the first three hours, according to organisers of the unofficial primary. They are hoping to get at least 170,000 to take part in the vote and on Sunday and select candidates from each district to run in September’s Legislative Council election.
Police searched the offices of the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute and seized its computers, said Au Nok-hin, an organiser of the primary. They had a warrant and didn’t make any arrests, Au said. The institute is a widely cited pollster helping the pro-democracy movement with the primary, which a top government official has said may violate Beijing’s new national security law for the city.
Voting for the primaries was delayed until noon as a result of the raid, the organisers said. Police were seen visiting some of the 250 polling stations.
A police spokeswoman said officers from the cyber security crime bureau conducted the search after receiving complaints from members of the public about leaked information, including that of police officers’.
The opposition hopes to ride a decisive victory in last November’s district council elections to secure a majority in the legislature that would give it the power to block Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s agenda — and even theoretically force her to resign by rejecting her budget proposals.
However, the new security law has compounded risks that the Beijing-backed government will disqualify pro-democracy candidates to keep them from winning enough seats.
“The primary election is our first time to let Beijing know Hong Kongers never bow down to China,†pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong was cited by RTHK as saying ahead of the opening of the polls. “We urge the world to put Hong Kong under the global spotlight.â€
Secretary for Mainland and Constitutional Affairs Erick Tsang suggested that participation in the primary could run afoul of the law.
If convicted by the courts, violators would be barred from seeking or holding public office for an unspecified period.
Another top Hong Kong official last month advocated for the invalidation of candidates who expressed opposition toward the legislation, which is raising questions about the city’s autonomy from China.
Tsang said that planning and participating in primaries could violate the law’s articles of secession, subversion and collusion, as well as its Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance.
Though democrats refuted the government’s remarks and continued canvassing support for the primary, they also worry that authorities’ suggestions of illegality — and a warning that district council offices shouldn’t be used as primary polling stations — would dampen voter turnout.