Hong Kong’s registered voters in decline for a third year

The number of registered voters in Hong Kong has dropped for the third consecutive year, declining by over 125,000 compared to last year, according to voter registration data published on Monday.

The register this year consisted of some 4.2 million voters in the geographical constituencies. The figure marked a decrease of 125,606 from last year, a 2.89 percent drop year-on-year.

The most significant drop in the number of voters was in the youngest age group - with a 51 percent drop in voters aged between 18 to 20 years old.

The only age groups that recorded an increase in voters included those aged between 66 to 70, and those aged over 71,  which saw a 4.8 percent and 5.1 percent uptick year-on-year respectively.

Meanwhile, the Electoral Affairs Commission said there were about 18,900 new registration applications and about 138,000 applications for updating particulars from registered electors of the geographical constituencies.

The commission explained that because next year will be an election year, it will contact people who had registered before but lost their registration status for some reason, by email or phone, to invite them to re-register as electors.