Hong Kongers stand in long queues on second day of primary elections

Long queues reappeared outside polling stations across Hong Kong on Sunday morning as residents flocked to cast their votes in a weekend primary held by the opposition camp for the upcoming Legislative Council elections, a day after it drew a higher-than-expected turnout.

Long queues reappeared outside polling stations across Hong Kong on Sunday morning as residents flocked to cast their votes in a weekend primary held by the opposition camp for the upcoming Legislative Council elections, a day after it drew a higher-than-expected turnout. Hongkongers were seen queuing up in multiple stations before the polls reopened at 9 a.m. (local time), as politicians of the opposition bloc made their last-ditch effort to canvass votes for the selection of candidates for September's Legislative Council (Legco) elections, South China Morning Post reported.

Some 318,184 people had voted as of 1 p.m. (local time) on Sunday, said the primary's organiser, Power of Democracy. By the end of Saturday, around 234,547 Hong Kongers - or 5.26 per cent of the city's 4.5 million registered voters - cast their ballots to choose their opposition candidates.

The territory-wide primary was held in the wake of Beijing's imposition of the national security law on the city, which outlaws acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces. Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai had earlier suggested that the voting could breach the controversial new law and the local elections ordinance, while authorities had warned against using district councillors' offices and shops sympathetic to the opposition as polling stations.

The Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute, which helped tabulate the ballots, also had its office raided by police late on Friday night over an alleged data leak concerning residents and officers years ago, forcing them to postpone the polls for three hours a day later. (ANI)

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