Sunday’s ‘patriots only’ Legislative Council elections took place in the shadow of the Tai Po fire that killed at least 159 people

Turnout for Hong Kong’s “patriots only” Legislative Council elections on Sunday was at a near-record low, with fewer than 32% of voters casting ballots, as the number of registered voters fell for the fourth consecutive year.

At 31.9%, Sunday’s turnout is marginally higher than 2021’s record low of 30.2%. But fewer people overall voted this year: 1.3 million compared to 1.4 million in 2021. Hong Kong’s population is about 7.5 million.