The first district council elections since the outbreak of anti-extradition protests in Hong Kong were held on Nov. 24. Over 2.94 million voters came out to vote for a historic voter turnout rate of 71.2 percent. Many outsiders see these elections as a referendum on the anti-extradition movement.


Supporters of Hong Kong's pro-democracy camp shout for joy. The district council elections on the 24th were the first since the anti-extradition protests began almost six months ago. Voting closed at 10:30 p.m. As of 11 a.m. the next morning, pro-democracy and independent candidates have won 393 of 452 seats. The pro-Beijing camp, meanwhile has tallied just 58 seats.

Civil Human Rights Front convener Jimmy Sham won his seat by beating Wong Yue-hon, 3,283 to 2,443 votes.

(We) emerged victorious in this exercise because this exercise turned the elections into a public referendum. This is not a victory for me, but a victory for the people of Hong Kong.

Sham says the election results reflect public sentiment. He called on the Hong Kong government to respond to the protestors' five demands and Hong Kong police to remove the blockade around Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Pro-democracy camp candidate Kelvin Lam's win over the pro-Beijing camp's Judy Chan, meanwhile, was seen as a benchmark victory for the pro-democracy camp.

They are not happy with how they deal with the protests so far, particularly in the last five months, and police brutality is actually over the top.

Pro-Beijing candidate Junius Ho, who was previously photographed shaking hands with "white t-shirt" triad members in July following the Yuen Long attack, lost his seat to Cary Lo.

(Voters) in Lok Tsui District gave Junius Ho's political leanings, his character and his conduct an emphatic thumbs-down.

Ho wrote on Facebook that elections are normal but the results were abnormal. He also sarcastically thanked people that voted against him for congratulating him on his loss.
Over 2.94 million people voted for a voter turnout rate of 71.2 percent. Just 1.5 million people voted in 2015. This was the highest voter turnout rate of the past five district council elections. Under the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, 117 of the Chief Executive Election Commission's 1,200 members are selected by district councilors. This means the pro-democracy camp could have the chance to influence the 2020 chief executive election.



高聲歡呼、大力拍手，這一刻，泛民主派支持者，用喜悅迎接勝利。香港24號舉辦區議會投票，這是反送中運動爆發5個多月後，他們第一次用選票表態。投票昨晚10點半結束，歷經12小時開票，截至上午十一點為止，泛民主派和其他無黨派人士，在452個應選席位中，拿下393席，不但過半，還遠遠超過建制派的58席，大獲全勝。

其中，選情一度告急的香港民陣召集人岑子杰，以3283票，大勝對手黃宇翰的2443票。

香港區議會瀝源選區當選人 岑子杰表示：「在這場運動裡勝出的，是因為這個運動的大氣候，讓這次投票變成一個全民的公投，所以這次是香港人的勝利，不是我的勝利。」

岑子杰表示，選舉結果反映民意，要求港府回應五大訴求，並要港警解除封鎖理工大學。另外，香港眾志秘書長黃之鋒力挺的民主派林浩波，也擊敗對手，建制派的陳家珮，被視為泛民主派指標性的勝利。

香港區議會海怡西選區當選人 林浩波表示：「選民不滿意政府處理抗議的方式，特別是最近這5個多月，警察暴力已經過頭了。」

同樣引人關注的，是曾被外界拍到，跟元朗攻擊民眾的白衣人握手的建制派何君堯，慘遭滑鐵盧，敗給對手盧俊宇。

香港區議會樂翠選區當選人 盧俊宇表示：「我們樂翠區的街坊，對於何君堯本身的政治取向，還有他的人品、他的行為，一個清晰的否定。」

但何君堯卻在臉書上表示，選舉非常，結果也異常。還感謝反對他的民眾，排山倒海來恭喜他落選。這場區議會選舉，有294萬選民投票，投票率高達71.2%。比上屆2015年的區議會選舉，投票率提高24%，投票人數多了150萬，也是近5屆區議會選舉最高。

雖然只是地方選舉，但根據香港基本法，特首選委會的1200席中，有117席由民選區議員相互選出。這場選舉結果，泛民主派已篤定可以取得117席，有機會影響2020年的特首選舉。