HK political organizations to encourage younger generation to contest for district councilors

The result of Hong Kong's fifth District Council Election was unveiled on Monday, when political organizations contested for the election pledged to continue to strive to serve the public and to attract more young contestants in the future.

Hong Kong's largest political organization, Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), was the biggest winner in the 2015 election, grabbing 119 seats out of the total 431 seats among the 18 districts across Hong Kong.

Of the 431 seats, 68 were uncontested, while 867 candidates vied for the rest 363 seats. DAB fielded 171 candidates for the election and resulted in a success rate of 70 percent.

DAB Chairwoman Starry Lee said at a press conference on Monday that it was encouraging to see 33 of their candidates who are under 35 years old winning the seats.

As for their veteran candidates who failed to retain their seats, Lee said they would review the results seriously and put more effort in serving the public at the district level.

Business and Professional Alliance for Hong Kong won 10 seats out of the 16 candidates who stood for the election. Chairman Leung Kwan-yuen said the result met their expectation and their next step would be to analyze the data.

He noted that the overall result of the election showed that the public has been tired of political disputes and young people's hope of change.

The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions has got 29 of their members elected. President Lam Shuk-yee said they gained more than 95,000 votes in total, exceeding that in 2011. The union would continue to press ahead with district level work and encourage more young people to contest for the election.

New People's Party gained 26 seats out of the 42 members standing for election, receiving over 75,000 votes. The Chair Regina Ip said the result was satisfying although some of their seasoned councillors lost. They also realized that the value of the younger generations was different from that of the older ones and would reflect on it.

The counting of votes of the election, which was held on Nov. 22, was completed at around 6 a.m. local time on Monday. The voter turnout hit a record high, with over 1.4 million registered electors casting their votes, representing a turnout rate of about 47 percent. The fourth term district council election was held in 2011, when the voter turnout was 41.4 percent.

Electoral Affairs Commission Chairman Justice Barnabas Fung said the election was concluded in an open, honest and fair manner and that the polls and vote count ran smoothly.

Comparing with the 2011 election, more time was needed to complete the counting of ballot papers this year, which took about 6.5 hours, as 260,000 more people voted, Fung added.

After visiting one of the counting stations in Eastern District on Sunday night, Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said that the record number of the turnout attests to the increasing importance of the district councils' function and role.

The functions of a district council include to advise the government on matters affecting the well-being of the people in the district; and on the provision and use of public facilities and services within the district, among others.

There are at present 18 district councils. The number of elected members was increased from 412 in the fourth term to 431 in the fifth term. Endit