Hong Kong's election on Sunday witnessed a near-record-low voter turnout following the city's most devastating fire in decades, fueling public discontent with the China-backed authorities. Despite this, voter participation edged slightly higher than in the previous election four years ago.

Only government-vetted "patriots" were permitted to run for the 90-seat Legislative Council, with just 20 seats being directly elected. The remaining positions were filled by an election committee loyal to Beijing. To encourage voting, polling stations increased and voting hours extended.

The deadly fire shifted the "social atmosphere," making election organization challenging, said David Lok of the Election Commission. Authorities initiated criminal investigations and made arrests for social media pos

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