[Statement] Hong Kong Legislative Council Elections 2016: Path to Democracy
September 6, 2016
(Seoul, Korea) On September 4, 2016, the people of Hong Kong made their quest for genuine democracy heard loud and clear by retaining one-thirds of the legislative seats for the pro-democracy groups despite the unfair system of functional categories in which only 6% of the total population of Hong Kong voters are eligible to vote. Among the 3.8 million eligible voters in the city, 58 percent voted, making it one of the highest turnout rates in the history of Hong Kong. It was noted that many polling stations had long queues of people waiting in line to voice their choice, as late as 2:30 am local time Monday morning which was four hours later than the scheduled cut off time.
This election was particularly significant for democracy in Asia. We would like to note that pro-democracy activist groups, many of them leaders of the Umbrella Movement in 2014 calling for self-determination, won their one-third veto bloc in Hong Kong’s 70 seats Legislative Council.
Hong Kong has become an inspiration for change in Asia, especially for the young generation. The people of Hong Kong has strived for genuine democracy and proven that despite all odds, change is possible with the strong will of the people.
On behalf of the Asia Democracy Network, we congratulate Hong Kong in their steps to democracy and pledge to stand in solidarity.
Asia Democracy Network
ADN Steering Committee Members for 2016-2017 is composed of regional and sub-regional NGOs and their networks as follows
- Asia Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), Bangkok
- Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL), Bangkok
- Asia Development Alliance (ADA), Seoul
- Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) Asia, Davao, the Philippines
- Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA), Manila, the Philippines
- International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID), Jakarta
- Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA) / Asia Democracy Research Network (ADRN), New Delhi
- People’s SAARC (PSAARC) for South Asia, Kathmandu
- Southeast Asia Committee for Advocacy (SEACA) / Solidarity for ASEAN People’s Advocacy (SAPA) for Southeast Asia for Southeast Asia, Manila
- Mongolia Democracy Network (MDN) / East Asia Democracy Forum (EADF) for Northeast Asia, Ulaanbaatar
