HONG KONG: The voter turnout increased by roughly 8 percent to 53 percent in Sunday's legislative council elections in Hong Kong. This was the first time that more than half of the LEGCO seats were chosen by the local residents. There was some confusion at the polls because of the new voting system. Voters had two choices, one candidate for their geographical constituency and one for the new District Council second functional constituency. Some voters ticked one name, some ticked four, and this confusion had a negative impact on the public attitude towards the elections. A shift towards the democratic parties had been expected but did not come to fruition, despite the popular democratic this year. Nonetheless, the democrats did acquire three of the new “super seats." The reason for the lack of progress for the democratic parties is still being debated, and some have stated that they are re-evaluating their strategy. Some suggestions are that the divisions among the democratic groups split the votes; some suggest weak political strategizing due to a large number of new candidates and relatively new developments in political culture; others suggest that core issues important to the Hong Kong population were not directly addressed by either side. There has been growing anger about property prices, increases in food prices and inadequate wages in some sectors. These issues were not adequately addressed by either side. In addition, the public attitudes about civil and political rights in Hong Kong has not be sufficiently articulated among politicians. In the meantime, the education protests go on, including a class strike of law students, who are gathering at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
