Public interest in the Legislative Council election this month was significantly boosted by official forums, according to Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai.
Tsang noted that this was the second LegCo election held since the city’s electoral system was overhauled in 2021. He praised both the arrangements and the outcomes, highlighting effective publicity, strong voter attention and satisfactory turnout.
He said yesterday that turnout in general was higher than the previous election's, stressing that the government has no hard target for voter turnout.
Tsang said the turnout this time was indeed much higher than last time, especially in the functional constituencies, where turnout rose from 32 percent to 40 percent.
However, because the number of registered voters fell, the total number of ballots cast was about 30,000 fewer than in the previous election. He noted that more voter-friendly measures will be introduced to boost turnout.
Tsang also said the “Patriots Collaborate for Good Governance” 2025 LegCo election forums organized by the government helped draw greater attention to the election.
In this year’s election, there were over 40,000 invalid ballots in the geographical constituencies, accounting for 3.1 percent, with some voters marking two candidates.
Tsang said there are various reasons for invalid ballots, including voters mistakenly marking two candidates on a single ballot.
He said the authorities are still categorizing the invalid ballots, and it may not be appropriate to comment before the tally is completed.
As for the Wang Fuk Court fire, Tsang said it did have an impact on the election but it cannot be generalized.
He said that some voters were not in the mood to vote, while others felt they should turn grief and anger into strength and vote enthusiastically, hoping to elect lawmakers quickly to carry out post-disaster work.
He said the current electoral system’s design reflects careful thought, allowing participation by people from different political spectrums and professional sectors, which meets the requirements of the election, aligns with the “one country, two systems” principle, and encompasses patriots who love the country and Hong Kong.
