Elections in Hong Kong for the city's legislative council - where many pro-democracy voters decided to stay away - was "largely worth nothing to the people" in the region, an expert has said.
Hong Kongers selected new politicians on Sunday under fresh rules imposed by Beijing that dramatically cut directly elected seats and controlled who could stand for office.
It followed huge pro-democracy protests which struck the city two years ago.
Figures showed just 30 per cent of the electorate cast ballots, the lowest rate both of the period since the city's 1997 handover to China and in the British colonial era.
Brendan Clift, senior fellow at Melbourne Law School, told SBS News the pro-democracy movement "clearly lives on in people's hearts and minds".
"The decision not to participate, not to comply with a sham election, that is itself a democratic decision and a democratic action," he said.
"If this is a snub of anything, it's not necessarily the government's policies, but it's an indication of the fact that this new, patriotic electoral system for the Legislative Council is not only one in which people don't feel invested, but [also] one in which it's largely futile to cast a vote at all.
"It's a case of election which is largely worth nothing to the people of Hong Kong if they really wish to express their views as to who should represent them in the government."
It was the first major election for the legislative council since the electoral system reformation and a major crackdown on pro-democratic parties. Source: Sipa USA Alex Chan Tsz Yuk / SOPA Images/
'Back on the right track'
All candidates for the ballot were vetted for their patriotism and political loyalty to China and only 20 of the 90 legislature seats were being directly elected.
The largest chunk of seats, 40, are being picked by a committee of 1,500 staunch Beijing loyalists.
The remaining 30 are chosen by reliably pro-Beijing committees that represent special-interest and industry groups.
Mr Clift said: "The remaining pro-democracy parties in Hong Kong, they clearly didn't want to confer any legitimacy upon this process.
"And thus, they didn't stand. They didn't even attempt to stand candidates in this election."
Hong Kong's chief executive Carrie Lam defended the new system and played down the turnout.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam at a press conference in Hong Kong, Monday, 20 December, 2021. Source: AAP
"Hong Kong is now back on the right track of One Country, Two Systems," she told reporters, naming the model China uses to give the city some autonomy from the authoritarian mainland.
"We cannot copy and paste the so-called democratic system or rules of the Western countries," she added, arguing the new rules meant "anti-China" elements were now excluded and political calm would be restored.
When asked why only 1.3 million of the 4.5 million registered voters cast ballots, she replied: "What is the reason, I can't analyse. You may need to turn to other opinion leaders."
With additional reporting by AFP.
