Candidates celebrate after winning in the Legislative Council election in Hong Kong, China, December 20, 2021. (Photo by Reuters)

Pro-Beijing candidates claimed a sweeping win in an overhauled Legislative Council (LegCo) election for Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Monday despite record low turnout.

A total of 153 candidates vied for 90 seats. Almost all seats were taken by pro-Beijing and pro-establishment patriots, some of whom cheered at the vote counting center and chanted ‘guaranteed win.’

Speaking at a news conference on Monday, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said that the low turnout doesn’t mean the support-cut from citizens.

With 1.35 million coming out to vote, it cannot be said that it was not an election that did not get a lot of support from citizens, Lam asserted

However, the low turnout is viewed by the pro-democracy activists as a rebuke to China after it tried to forcefully bring the city under control.

In addition, the elections were denounced as undemocratic by some western governments who had no role in them.

In separate statements, the G7 group and other western powers such as the US and the UK expressed grave concern over the Hong Kong’s changed electoral system.

The Hong Kong branch of China’s foreign ministry hit back at them, saying the electoral system was an internal affair of the country and urged foreign forces not to interfere.

In a 57-page official statement published on Monday, Beijing reaffirmed the government’s unwavering support for developing the democratic system in Hong Kong and denounced the often-violent 2019 pro-democracy protests.

China said Hong Kong was now entering a new stage of restored order as a result of these Beijing-introduced changes.

Meanwhile, Starry Lee, head of the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong that won half of the seats, said the low turnout is not a challenge and it needs some time for people to get adapted to this system.

She added that patriots-only rules would improve governance.

China’s Liaison Office in Hong Kong termed the elections as a successful practice of democracy with Hong Kong characteristics.

Under the new electoral rules announced by China in March, the proportion of directly elected seats was reduced by half, from around 40 to 20.

Besides, another 40 seats were selected by a committee stacked with Beijing loyalists, while the remaining 30 were filled by functional constituencies such as finance and engineering.