HK protesters hope poll will send message to China

Pro-democracy protest groups in Hong Kong are urging people not to disrupt Sunday's local elections in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.

They hope the polls will send a message to the government in Beijing after five months of political unrest.

The authorities have threatened to suspend voting if there is serious disruption at polling stations.

More than 400 councillors are due to be elected to Hong Kong's district council.

Pro-democracy campaigners hope they will be able to increase their representation on the council, which traditionally has some influence in choosing the city's chief executive.

Pro-Beijing candidates are urging voters to support them in order to express frustration at the upheaval caused by continuous clashes between protesters and police.

Polls opened at 07:30 local time (23:30 GMT) on Sunday, with a record 4.1 million people registered to vote. Hong Kong has a population of 7.4 million.

More than 1,000 candidates are running for 452 district council seats which, for the first time, are all being contested. A further 27 seats are allocated to representatives of rural districts.

Currently, pro-Beijing parties hold the majority of these seats.

Source: BBC

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