Pro-Democracy campaigners celebrate Hong Kong election success
Pro-democracy campaigners in Hong Kong are celebrating major gains after local elections on Sunday.
The Democratic Party is claiming that it has won 95 of the 120 wards it contested in elections, which saw an unprecedented turnout.
The pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) is thought to have suffered a strong defeat.
The election was the first since the July 1 anti-government rally, which forced the government to put off controversial anti-subversion laws. The huge support for this rally is being held responsible for the high turnout of voters on Sunday.
The election gave voters the opportunity to express their discontent with the government of Tung Chee-hwa, Hong Kong’s chief executive, who was hand-picked by China to run the former British colony after its return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.
Voters want his successor to be democratically elected rather than appointed.
The elections are being watched closely in Beijing, which has been nervous since the display of dissatisfaction shown at the July rally.
