HONG KONG: A new generation of young Hong Kong politicians advocating a break from Beijing looked set to become lawmakers for the first time Monday in the biggest poll since mass pro-democracy rallies in 2014.

A record 2.2 million people voted in the city-wide legislative election which ended in the early hours of Monday and saw activists who support Hong Kong’s independence from China standing for the first time.

It comes as fears grow that Beijing is tightening its grip on the semi-autonomous city in a range of areas, from politics to education and media.

In a landmark victory, at least three of a handful of young campaigners calling for much more distance from Beijing were forecast to win seats with 90 percent of the vote counted.

Among them is Nathan Law, 23, leader of the 2014 “Umbrella Movement” rallies, who is guaranteed a seat after coming second in his constituency behind a pro-Beijing candidate.

Law and his new party Demosisto are calling for a referendum on independence, emphasising Hong Kongers’ right to choose.

“I think Hong Kongers really wanted change,” Law said, celebrating his win.

“Young people have a sense of urgency when it comes to the future.”

Law will now take up a seat in the Legislative Council (LegCo), Hong Kong’s lawmaking body.

Most established pro-democracy politicians do not support the notion of independence and there were concerns in the democratic camp that new activists would split the vote, triggering overall losses.

If the democrats lose four seats, they will forfeit the one-third voting bloc they need to veto bills, stacking the already skewed legislature even more in favour of Beijing.

However, early results showed the democrats are likely to hold on to that veto power.

Beijing bias

 It is as good a result as the democrats could hope for, given that the framework of LegCo favours Beijing.

The structure of the council makes it almost impossible for the democracy camp to take a majority as 30 of the council’s 70 seats are elected by special interest groups representing a range of businesses and social sectors. Those seats go predominantly to pro-Beijing candidates.

Fears that Hong Kong’s freedoms are disappearing were fanned after five city booksellers known for salacious titles about Beijing politicians disappeared, resurfacing in detention on the mainland.

That fuelled the fire of the “localist” movement, which grew out of the failure of the 2014 rallies to win political reform pushing for more distance from Beijing.

It saw the emergence of young campaigners demanding outright independence for Hong Kong —a subject previously taboo.

Hong Kong was handed back to China by Britain in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” agreement intended to protect its freedoms and partial autonomy for 50 years. However, many young campaigners believe that deal has failed.

Pro-democracy campaigners with megaphones urged voters to get to the polls Sunday to prevent the LegCo swinging further towards Beijing.

At some polling stations there were snaking queues until until 2:30 am (1830 Sunday GMT) — four hours later than the scheduled cut-off time — with a turnout of almost 60 percent of 3.7 million voters.

That compares with 53 percent in the last LegCo elections in 2012. </s> Tensions were high as pro-democracy parties sought to maintain a majority of democratically elected seats in the Legislative Council that allows them to block certain legislation.

People were still voting at some polling stations at 2 a.m. local time Monday morning, three and half hours after the 10:30 p.m. deadline. The poll is the first major election since the financial center was rocked by pro-democracy street protests in 2014 -- also known as the "Umbrella Revolution."

More than 2.2 million people voted, according to the Electoral Affairs Commission, with a turnout of 58% -- up from 53% in 2012. Hong Kong does not permit postal voting or early voting.

suggest that a younger generation of more radical, pro-democracy politicians won a larger-than-expected share of votes. suggest that a younger generation of more radical, pro-democracy politicians won a larger-than-expected share of votes. Preliminary results suggest that a younger generation of more radical, pro-democracy politicians won a larger-than-expected share of votes. Nathan Law, one of the student leaders of the 2014 Umbrella Movement, has been elected on Hong Kong Island, according to preliminary results. His constituency elects six seats and he is currently in second place, with 90% of votes counted. Law co-founded Demosisto with activist Joshua Wong , who was unable to run as he is not yet 21. Law, 23, will be Hong Kong's youngest ever lawmaker. Speaking Sunday before the results, Wong told CNN he hoped the election would prove to be "fair." He said Hong Kong has faced an uptick in "political censorship" and the "suppression or interference with autonomy" since the 2014 protests. Other young former Umbrella Movement protesters also look set to win seats. Including Youngspirations' Sixtus Baggio Leung, who was endorsed by pro-independence activist Edward Leung. The latter Leung was one of several candidates controversially blocked from standing in this year's election Another Youngspiration candidate, Yau Wai-ching, is in a tight contest in the Kowloon West constituency. Should she win, all six lawmakers elected there will be women. Voters defied early predictions that turnout would be lower, with 400,000 more people voting than in 2012. Lines stretched around the block in certain districts, as many complained online of poorly staffed polling stations. In Tai Koo, on Hong Kong Island, voters were still lining up as of 2 a.m. local time Monday. Others went out of their way to ensure they would be able to take part. Post-graduate student Deryck Chan, 25, flew back from the UK to cast his vote. "I made sure to book my leave to coincide with the elections," he told CNN.
Two Hong Kong Youngspiration party Legislative Council election victors lose their appeal to take their seats in parliament by a High Court three-judge panel. Tomorrow, the High Court will hear the independence supporters' petition for a hearing by the Court of Final Appeal.