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All 60 seats to the Legislative Council 31 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Registered | 3,207,227 (GC)4.97% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Turnout | 1,784,406 (55.64%) 12.07pp | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2004 Hong Kong Legislative Council election was held on 12 September 2004 for members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo). The election returned 30 members from directly elected geographical constituencies and 30 members from functional constituencies, of which 11 were unopposed.
An unprecedented number of 3.2 million people registered to vote in the election. The turnout rate was an unprecedented 55.6% with 1,784,406 voters casting ballots, beating the previous record set in 1998 by 200,000 votes. [1] While pro-democratic opposition candidates gained new seats in the legislature, their gains fell short of their expectations.
In the geographical constituencies, candidates from the pro-democratic camp secured 60 percent of the seats in the geographical sectors of the election, taking 18 seats (up from 17) in this category, and 62 percent of the popular vote. On the other hand, the pro-Beijing and pro-business candidates made greater gains, winning 12 directly elected seats (up from 7). In the functional constituencies which the pro-democratic camp sought to abolish, the camp made more gains (from 5 to 7 seats).
Overall, the democrats took 25 seats and the pro-government camp 35 seats. Bills initiated by the government can still be passed on pro-government support alone, but bills originated by members cannot be passed without democratic support, since these bills require absolute majorities in each sector (geographical and functional) of the legislature. [2] Constitutional amendments require a two-thirds vote and thereby also require support from the democratic camp.
Despite the increase in the number of seats returned by geographical constituencies and the record turnout, the Democratic Party lost the status of being the largest political party in the Legislative Council to the pro-government Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong, DAB, who secured 12 seats if including the two members who ran under the banner of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, and pro-business Liberal Party who secured 10 seats, thereby becoming only the third-largest party. Some attributed the poor performance of the pro-democratic camp to tactical miscalculation in vote allocation. This was not helped by some of the democratic parties' personal scandals.
The pro-Beijing and pro-business parties succeeded in retaining the majority in the legislature. However, pro-democracy candidates have maintained the threshold to block changes, if necessary, to the Basic Law of Hong Kong, since a two-thirds vote is required for amendment. The current Legislative Council also saw the entry of more radical members of the democratic camp.
According to the Annex II of the Basic Law of Hong Kong, the 6-seat Election Committee constituency indirectly elected by the 800-member Election Committee would be abolished, while the directly elected geographical constituency seats would increase from 24 to 30, [3] same number of the indirectly elected functional constituencies. As a result, Hong Kong Island and Kowloon East was added one extra seat each, from five to six and four to five respectively, and the New Territories West and New Territories East was added two extra seats each, from six to eight and five to seven respectively, while the number of seats in Kowloon West remained four.
The election came amidst the deteriorating governance and intense debates over constitutional reforms in Hong Kong. The Tung Chee-hwa administration had been embattling with economic recession brought by the 1997 financial crisis and the more prominent SARS outbreak in 2003. Nevertheless, the Tung administration pushed forward the controversial Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23 legislation which outlawed "treason" and "subversive activities" and raised concerns on its potential threats against Hong Kong people's civil liberties. A group of barristers formed the Basic Law Article 23 Concern Group and rallied against the national security legislation. Over 500,000 people to protested on 1 July 2003, the sixth anniversary of the establishment of the HKSAR, against the legislation, the largest demonstration since the handover. [4] The Article 23 legislation further crippled the Tung administration as the government saw its popularity dropped to a new low. The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB), the largest pro-Beijing party saw its largest defeat in the District Council elections in November 2003, which alarmed the Beijing and the Hong Kong government.
The Annex I and Annex II of the Basic Law state that the method for selecting the Chief Executive and for forming the Legislative Council could be amended after 2007. The pro-democracy camp argued that the third term of Chief Executive and fourth term of Legislative Council should be elected on the basis of universal suffrage in 2007 and 2008 as stipulated in the Article 45 and 68 of the Basic Law respectively. [5] In 2004, the Article 23 Concern Group transformed into the Article 45 Concern Group calling for the early implementation of the universal suffrage. Facing the pro-democracy pressure for full democratisation, in April 2004, the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) ruled out the 2007/08 universal suffrage.
With the cancellation of the Election Committee constituency, there were total of twelve incumbents chose not to run for re-election. Ip Kwok-him lost his seat in the Central and Western District Council therefore was not qualified for running in the District Council functional constituency.
Before election:
22 | 38 |
Pro-democracy | Pro-Beijing |
Change in composition:
25 | 35 |
Pro-democracy | Pro-Beijing |
Parties and allegiances | Geographical constituencies | Functional constituencies | Total seats | ± | ||||||||
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Votes | % | ±pp | Seats | Votes | % | ±pp | Seats | |||||
Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong | 402,420 | 22.73 | 5.67 | 8 | – | – | – | 2 | 10 | 0 | ||
Liberal Party | 118,997 | 6.72 | 4.84 | 2 | 6,126 | 4.71 | 0.25 | 8 | 10 | 2 | ||
Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions | 52,564 | 2.97 | N/A | 1 | 566 | 0.44 | N/A | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||
Hong Kong Progressive Alliance | 14,174 | 0.80 | 1.15 | 0 | 17 | 0.01 | 0.14 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
New Century Forum | 4,511 | 0.25 | 1.35 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 1 | ||
Pro-government individuals and others | 69,306 | 3.92 | – | 1 | 36,313 | 27.91 | – | 11 | 12 | − | ||
Total for pro-Beijing camp | 661,972 | 37.40 | 2.46 | 12 | 43,022 | 33.07 | 6.78 | 23 | 35 | 4 | ||
Democratic Party | 445,988 | 25.19 | 6.47 | 7 | 48,323 | 37.15 | 8.48 | 2 | 9 | 2 | ||
Article 45 Concern Group | 117,216 | 6.62 | N/A | 3 | 2,597 | 2.00 | N/A | 1 | 4 | 2 | ||
The Frontier | 121,900 | 6.89 | 0.11 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | ||
Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood | 74,671 | 4.22 | 0.53 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||
Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions | 69,844 | 3.95 | 3.38 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||
April Fifth Action | 60,925 | 3.44 | 2.06 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | ||
Neighbourhood and Worker's Service Centre | 59,033 | 3.33 | 1.17 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||
Hong Kong Social Workers' General Union | – | – | – | – | 3,199 | 2.46 | N/A | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Pro democracy individuals and others | 155,812 | 8.80 | – | 3 | 27,594 | 21.21 | – | 4 | 7 | − | ||
Total for pro-democracy camp | 1,105,388 | 62.44 | 1.88 | 18 | 81,713 | 62.81 | 7.00 | 7 | 25 | 4 | ||
Non-partisan individuals and others | 2,830 | 0.16 | – | 0 | 5,351 | 4.11 | – | 0 | 0 | − | ||
Total | 1,770,190 | 100.00 | 30 | 130,086 | 100.00 | 30 | 60 | 0 | ||||
Valid votes | 1,770,190 | 99.22 | 0.08 | 130,086 | 96.41 | 0.25 | ||||||
Invalid votes | 13,941 | 0.78 | 0.08 | 4,849 | 3.59 | 0.25 | ||||||
Votes cast / turnout | 1,784,131 | 55.63 | 12.06 | 134,935 | 70.14 | 13.64 | ||||||
Registered voters | 3,207,227 | 100.00 | 4.97 | 192,374 | 100.00 | 18.00 | ||||||
Source turnout: Electoral Affairs Commission. 11 candidates in 11 functional constituencies were elected unopposed to the Legislative Council. |
Note: For the joint list of pro-democrats in Hong Kong Island, Kowloon East and New Territories East, the votes are divided equally to each candidate.
The election was largely seen as a contest between the pro-democracy coalition and the pro-business and pro-Beijing coalitions. There were 162 candidates for 60 seats in the LegCo. Before the election, the pro-democratic camp was widely expected to gain the most votes and increase its representation from 22 seats in the LegCo. Some members of the pro-democratic camp aimed at securing an absolute majority of the seats in the legislature so that they would have the power to veto all government proposals.
The democratic camp called for direct elections for the Chief Executive of Hong Kong in 2007 and for LegCo in 2008, as well as rapid political reform. In contrast, the pro-Beijing and pro-business candidates placed more emphasis on economic growth and social stability. Most of the political parties are now setting 2012 as the ideal time for electoral reform.
While the democratic camp hoped to play up the issue of universal suffrage as a prominent issue in the election, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress ruled out universal suffrage for the Chief Executive election in 2007 and for LegCo elections in 2008 in April 2004 before the election. Despite this, the pro-democratic camp insisted on promoting their agenda, which seemed to backfire when the campaign lost its original momentum. This was not helped by various sex and financial scandals of a few pro-democracy candidates. There were some allegations by the pro-democracy camp of Mainland Chinese influence behind this.
Some of the developments include:
There were a few reports of irregularities. Some polling stations ran out of ballot boxes, causing long delays in voting. To fit more ballots into the ballot boxes, some election workers forcefully stuffed ballots into the box using objects such as barbecue forks and metal rulers. Some stations also used random cardboard boxes without official seals. Some ballot boxes were opened before the close of polling.
The polling station operating manual had mistakes in it, so some candidate representatives were kicked out after the closing of the poll and were prevented from witnessing the counting, as required by law.
Some candidates have tried to challenge the election results, but have remained unsuccessful thus far.
A report on the election process was published shortly after the election. [1] Another report was commissioned by the government to suggest future improvements. [6]
Eight incumbents lost re-election
Party | Name | Constituency | Remarks | |
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Democratic | Wong Sing-chi | New Territories East | placed fourth on the list | |
The Frontier/Civic Act-up | Cyd Ho Sau-lan | Hong Kong Island | placed second on the list; running for New Territories East constituency in the last election | |
Independent | Andrew Wong Wang-fat | New Territories East | ||
Lo Wing-lok | Medical | |||
Kaizer Lau Ping-cheung | Architectural, Surveying and Planning | |||
Michael Mak Kwok-fung | Health Services | |||
Chan Kwok-keung | Labour | |||
Wu King-cheong | Financial Services |
Voting system: Party-list proportional representation with largest remainder method and Hare quota.
Results of the Geographical Constituencies | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hong Kong Island (香港島) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Kowloon West (九龍西) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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New Territories East (新界東) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Voting systems: Different voting systems apply to different functional constituencies, namely for the Heung Yee Kuk, Agriculture and Fisheries, Insurance and Transport, the preferential elimination system of voting; and for the remaining 24 FCs used the first-past-the-post voting system. [7]
Results of the Functional Constituencies | |||||
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Constituency | Incumbent | Result | Candidate(s) | ||
Heung Yee Kuk | Lau Wong-fat (Liberal) | Incumbent ran for DC FC Nonpartisan gain | Lam Wai-keung uncontested | ||
Agriculture and Fisheries | Wong Yung-kan (DAB) | Incumbent hold | Wong Yung-kan (DAB) uncontested | ||
Insurance | Bernard Charnwut Chan | Incumbent hold | Bernard Charnwut Chan uncontested | ||
Transport | Miriam Lau Kin-yee (Liberal) | Incumbent re-elected | Miriam Lau Kin-yee (Liberal) uncontested | ||
Education | Cheung Man-kwong (PTU/Democratic) | Incumbent re-elected | Cheung Man-kwong (PTU/Democratic) 82.94% Yu Kai-chun 17.06% | ||
Legal | Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee (Independent) | Incumbent hold | Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee (Independent) 74.73% Kwong Ka-yin (Independent) 17.21% Judy Tong Kei-yuk (Independent) 8.06% | ||
Accountancy | Eric Li Ka-cheung (Independent) | Incumbent retired Independent gain | Tam Heung-man (Independent) 29.05% Chan Mo-po (Independent) 28.74% Elve Kung Yiu-fai (Independent) 15.54% Edward Chow Kwong-fai 9.13% Louis Leung Wing-on (Independent) 5.17% Peter Chan Po-fun 5.16% Choi Sau-yuk (Independent) 3.80% Wilfred Wu Shek-chun 2.09% Wilfred Wong Wang-tai 1.32% | ||
Medical | Lo Wing-lok (Independent) | Incumbent lost re-election Independent gain | Kwok Ka-ki (Independent) 50.88% Lo Wing-lok (Independent) 42.45% Johnny Ma Kam-chuen 6.67% | ||
Health Services | Michael Mak Kwok-fung (Independent) | Incumbent lost re-election Independent gain | Joseph Lee Kok-long (Independent) 43.01% Michael Mak Kwok-fung (Independent democrat) 30.14% Scarlett Pong Oi-lan 14.27% Siu Kwai-fung (Independent) 12.58% | ||
Engineering | Raymond Ho Chung-tai | Incumbent re-elected | Raymond Ho Chung-tai 57.29% Luk Wang-kwong 42.71% | ||
Architectural, Surveying and Planning | Kaizer Lau Ping-cheung | Incumbent lost re-election Independent gain | Patrick Lau Sau-shing (Independent) 28.36% Kenneth Chan Jor-kin (Independent) 16.29% Kaizer Lau Ping-cheung 15.46% Roger Anthony Nissim(Independent) 13.73% Stanley Ng Wing-fai (Democratic) 13.23% Chan Yiu-fai (Independent) 12.93% | ||
Labour (3 seats) | Li Fung-ying (Nonpartisan) | Incumbent re-elected | Li Fung-ying 32.43% Kwong Chi-kin (FTU) 29.00% Wong Kwok-hing (FTU) 28.00% Chan Kwok-keung 10.57% | ||
Leung Fu-wah (FTU) | Incumbent retired FTU hold | ||||
Chan Kwok-keung (DAB) | Incumbent lost re-election FTU gain | ||||
Social Welfare | Law Chi-kwong (Democratic) | Incumbent retired Nonpartisan gain | Cheung Chiu-hung 39.01% Cheung Kwok-che (SWGU) 38.24% Christine Fong Meng-sang 22.75% | ||
Real Estate and Construction | Abraham Shek Lai-him (Independent) | Incumbent hold | Abraham Shek Lai-him (Independent) uncontested | ||
Tourism | Howard Young (Liberal) | Incumbent re-elected | Howard Young 48.20% Paul Tse Wai-chun 40.75% Freddy Yip Hing-ning 11.05% | ||
Commercial (First) | James Tien Pei-chun (Liberal) | Incumbent ran for NTE GC Liberal hold | Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung (Liberal) uncontested | ||
Commercial (Second) | Philip Wong Yu-hong | Incumbent hold | Philip Wong Yu-hong uncontested | ||
Industrial (First) | Kenneth Ting Woo-shou (Liberal) | Incumbent ran for NTW GC Liberal hold | Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen (Liberal) uncontested | ||
Industrial (Second) | Lui Ming-wah | Incumbent hold | Lui Ming-wah uncontested | ||
Finance | David Li Kwok-po | Incumbent hold | David Li Kwok-po uncontested | ||
Financial Services | Wu King-cheong | Incumbent lost re-election Nonpartisan gain | Chim Pui-chung 51.69% Christopher Cheung Wah-fung 17.29% Wu King-cheong 16.35% Fung Ka-pun (Liberal) 11.47% Fung Chi-kin (Progressive Alliance) 3.20% | ||
Sports, Performing Arts, Culture and Publication | Timothy Fok Tsun-ting | Incumbent hold | Timothy Fok Tsun-ting 69.08% Lam Hon-kin (Democratic) 30.92% | ||
Import and Export | Hui Cheung-ching (Progressive Alliance) | Incumbent retired DAB gain | Wong Ting-kwong (DAB) uncontested | ||
Textiles and Garment | Sophie Lau Yau-fun (Liberal) | Incumbent re-elected | Sophie Lau Yau-fun (Liberal) 77.94% Kwan Kam-yuen 22.06% | ||
Wholesale and Retail | Selina Chow Liang Shuk-yee (Liberal) | Incumbent ran for NTW GC Liberal hold | Vincent Fang Kang (Liberal) 46.85% Fung Leung-lo 36.66% Samuel Chan Tim-shing 16.49% | ||
Information Technology | Sin Chung-kai (Democratic) | Incumbent re-elected | Sin Chung-kai (Democratic) 52.59% Tam Wai-ho 42.65% Leung Mun-yee (Independent) 4.76% | ||
Catering | Tommy Cheung Yu-yan (Liberal) | Incumbent re-elected | Tommy Cheung Yu-yan (Liberal) 63.75% Josephine Chan Shu-ying 21.75% Wong Sin-ying 14.50% | ||
District Council | Ip Kwok-him (DAB) | Incumbent retired Liberal gain | Lau Wong-fat (Liberal) 61.24% Cosmas Kwong Kwok-chuen (Democratic) 28.90% Au Chi-yuen 9.86% |
The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, colloquially known as LegCo, is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong. It sits under China's "one country, two systems" constitutional arrangement, and is the power centre of Hong Kong's hybrid representative democracy, though popular representation in the legislature has diminished significantly in recent years, along with its political diversity.
The Democratic Party (DP) is a liberal political party in Hong Kong. The party generally sits at the centre to centre-left of the Hong Kong political spectrum. Chaired by Lo Kin-hei, it is the flagship party in the pro-democracy camp and currently has no elected representatives in the District Councils.
Elections in Hong Kong take place when certain political offices in the government need to be filled. Hong Kong has a multi-party system, with numerous parties in the Legislative Council. The Chief Executive of Hong Kong is nonpartisan but has to work with several parties to form a coalition government.
Legislative elections are held in Hong Kong every four years Legislative Council (LegCo) in accordance with Article 69 of the Basic Law. Legislative elections are held either at the expiry of a four-year term or when the Chief Executive dissolves the legislature and calls a new election.
The pro-democracy camp, also known as the pan-democracy camp, is a political alignment in Hong Kong that supports increased democracy, namely the universal suffrage of the Chief Executive and the Legislative Council as given by the Basic Law under the "One Country, Two Systems" framework.
The Civic Party (CP) was a pro-democracy liberal political party in Hong Kong.
The 2008 Hong Kong Legislative Council election was held on 7 September 2008 for the 4th Legislative Council since the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. There were 60 seats in the 4th Legislative Council, with 30 members elected by geographical constituencies through direct elections, and 30 members by functional constituencies. Candidates for 14 functional constituency seats were unopposed.
Democratic reforms in Hong Kong did not seriously begin until 1984 and has faced significant challenges since 2014. The one country, two systems principle allows Hong Kong to enjoy high autonomy in all areas besides foreign relations and defence, which are responsibilities of the central government. Hong Kong's Basic Law allows residents to vote for local district councillors and directly elect about half of the region's legislators (LegCo) at the time.
The 2000 Hong Kong Legislative Council election was held on 10 September 2000 for members of the 2nd Legislative Council (LegCo) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). The election returned 24 members from directly elected geographical constituencies, 6 seats from the Election Committee constituency and 30 members from functional constituencies, of which 9 uncontested.
The 1998 Hong Kong Legislative Council election was held on 24 May 1998 for members of the 1st Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo) since the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) in 1997. Replacing the Provisional Legislative Council (PLC) strictly controlled by the Beijing government and boycotted by the pro-democracy camp, the elections returned 20 members from directly elected geographical constituencies, 10 seats from the Election Committee constituency and 30 members from functional constituencies, of which 10 were uncontested.
The 2010 Hong Kong Legislative Council by-election was an election held on 16 May 2010 in Hong Kong for all five geographical constituencies of the Legislative Council (LegCo), triggered by the resignation of five pan-democrat Legislative Councillors in January of the same year.
The 2012 Hong Kong Legislative Council election was held on 9 September 2012 for the 5th Legislative Council (LegCo) since the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
The 2011 Hong Kong District Council elections were held on 6 November 2011. Elections were held to all 18 District Councils of Hong Kong, returning 412 members from directly elected constituencies, each selecting a council member. After the government's constitutional reform package was passed in 2010, five new seats in the Legislative Council would be created in which the candidates would be nominated by all District Councillors.
The 1991 Hong Kong Legislative Council election was held for members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo). The election of the members of functional constituencies was held on 12 September 1991 and the election of geographical constituency seats was held on 15 September respectively. It was the first ever direct election of the Legislative Council in Hong Kong history. There were 18 members from directly elected geographical constituencies, 21 members from functional constituencies, 17 members appointed by the Governor, and 3 official members.
The 1994 Hong Kong electoral reform was a set of significant constitutional changes in the last years of British colonial rule in Hong Kong before the handover of its sovereignty to the People's Republic of China (PRC) on 1 July 1997. The reform aimed at broadening the electorate base of the three-tiers elections in 1994 and 1995, namely the 1994 District Board elections, the 1995 Urban and Regional Council elections and the 1995 Legislative Council election. It was the flagship policy of the last colonial governor Chris Patten.
The 2014–2015 Hong Kong electoral reform was a proposed reform for the 2017 Hong Kong Chief Executive election and 2016 Legislative Council election.
The 2005 Hong Kong electoral reform was carried out in late 2005 for the selection of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong (CE) in 2007 and Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo) in 2008. The reform proposals were ultimately voted down by the pro-democracy camp.
The 2018 Hong Kong Legislative Council by-election was held on 11 March 2018 for four of the six vacancies in the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo) - the Hong Kong Island, Kowloon West and New Territories East geographical constituencies and the Architectural, Surveying, Planning and Landscape functional constituency - resulting from the disqualification of six pro-democrat and localist camp Legislative Council members over the 2016 oath-taking controversy. The by-election for the two other seats was not held due to pending legal appeals by the two disqualified legislators.
The 2021 Hong Kong Legislative Council election was a general election held on 19 December 2021 for the 7th Legislative Council of Hong Kong. Under the drastic Beijing-imposed electoral overhaul, the total number of seats was increased from 70 to 90 seats, with the directly elected geographical constituencies (GCs) reduced from 35 to 20 seats, the trade-based indirectly elected functional constituencies (FCs) staying at 30, and the additional 40 seats being elected by the 1,500-member Election Committee. therefore still not allowing universal suffrage.
The 2021 Hong Kong electoral changes were initiated by the National People's Congress (NPC) on 11 March 2021 to "amend electoral rules and improve the electoral system" of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) for its Chief Executive (CE) and the Legislative Council (LegCo), in order to ensure a system in which only "patriots", according to the Chinese definition, govern Hong Kong. The reforms have been widely criticized for their negative impact on the democratic representation in the Hong Kong legislature.