Hong Kong local elections, 1994

Hong Kong local elections, 1994

18 September 1994

All Elected Constituencies 346 (of the 373) seats in all 18 Districts Boards Turnout 33.1%   First party Second party Third party   Leader Martin Lee Tsang Yok-sing Frederick Fung Party Democratic DAB ADPL Alliance Pro-democracy Pro-Beijing Pro-democracy Last election New party New party 15 seats, 5.26% Seats won 75 38 29 Seat change 13 28 14 Popular vote 157,929 82,197 47,740 Percentage 23.01% 11.97% 6.95% Swing N/A N/A 1.69pp   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   LDF Leader Allen Lee Hu Fa-kuang Lau Kong-wah Party Liberal LDF Civil Force Alliance Pro-Beijing Pro-Beijing Pro-Beijing Last election New party 24 seats, 8.96% New party Seats won 18 11 10 Seat change 8 2 8 Popular vote 50,755 25,499 12,141 Percentage 7.39% 3.71% 1.77% Swing N/A 5.25pp N/A

The 1994 Hong Kong District Board elections were held on 18 September 1994. Election was held to all 18 districts of Hong Kong, for 346 members from directly elected constituencies with the abolition of the appointed seats under the new electoral arrangements, as the last step of the democratisation by the then Governor Chris Patten before the handover of Hong Kong.

Under the Patten's reform package, the voting age was lowered to 18 from 21, appointed members were abolished, and District Board members were given responsibility of filling 10 of the 60 Legislative Council seats through Election Committee constituency in the election next year.^[1]

Despite set against the British-Chinese dispute over Hong Kong's political reform, the election was influenced by local issues such as bus fares and garbage collection. The turnout of 33.1%, slightly higher than the 32.5% turnout for the 1991 legislative elections. Almost 700,000 votes cast were 60% more than in the previous election and reflect the broader franchise stemming from Patten's reform package.^[1]

The pro-democracy alliance, the United Democrats–Meeting Point, which was undergoing the merger plan of creating the Democratic Party, captured the lead with 75 seats and teamed up with smaller pro-democracy parties to gain control of five of the 18 District Boards.^[1]

The biggest pro-Beijing party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) won 37 seats, doing better than expected, while conservative, pro-business candidates of the Liberal Party, the Liberal Democratic Federation of Hong Kong (LDF) and the Hong Kong Progressive Alliance came in below expectations with 30 seats.^[1]

After the elections, Beijing appointed 200 District Affairs Advisers as the part of establishing a political structure parallel to that of the British one, as it claimed that Patten's reform violated the constitution and Sino-British agreements.^[1]

General outcome

 Overall Summary of the 18 September 1994 District Boards of Hong Kong election results

Political Affiliation			Popular vote	%	Standing	Elected
		United Democrats–Meeting Point	157,929	23.01	133	75
		Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood	47,740	6.95	40	29
		123 Democratic Alliance	14,858	2.16	21	7
		Kowloon City Observers	5,164	0.75	6	2
		Hong Kong Democratic Foundation	4,048	0.59	5	2
		Hong Kong Public Doctors' Association	3,273	0.48	3	2
		Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions	2,850	0.42	2	2
		Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union	2,127	0.31	1	1
		Neighbourhood and Workers Service Centre	859	0.13	3	1
		Pioneer	387	0.06	1	0
Total for pro-democracy camp			249,685	36.38	223	124
		Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong	82,197	11.97	84	38
		Liberal Party	50,755	7.39	89	18
		Liberal Democratic Federation of Hong Kong	25,499	3.71	28	11
		Civil Force	12,141	1.77	10	10
		Kwun Tong Man Chung Friendship Promotion Association	11,952	1.74	12	7
		United Front for the Service of the People	9,720	1.42	8	4
		East Kowloon District Residents' Committee	9,197	1.34	11	8
		Public Affairs Society	6,982	1.02	15	2
		Hong Kong Progressive Alliance	4,516	0.66	8	2
		Tai Po District Residence Association	3,325	0.48	4	1
		New Territories West Residents Association	2,187	0.32	5	1
		Kowloon City District Residence Association	1,486	0.22	2	2
		Mongkok District Residence Association	1,450	0.21	2	2
		Sham Shui Po Residents Association	332	0.05	3	2
Total for pro-China camp			224,378	32.69	285	111
Total for others			212,354	30.94	249	111
Total (turnout 33.1%)			686,417	100.0	757	346

Vote summary

Popular vote
UDHK/MP			23.01%
DAB			11.87%
Liberal			7.39%
ADPL			6.95%
LDF			3.71%
123DA			2.16%
Civil Force			1.77%
Others			43.14%

Seat summary

Seats
UDHK/MP			21.68%
DAB			10.69%
ADPL			8.38%
Liberal			5.20%
LDF			3.18%
Civil Force			2.90%
123DA			2.02%
Others			45.95%

References

1. Tefft, Sheila (20 September 1994). "Pro-Democracy Parties Capture Lead in Hong Kong Elections". The Christian Science Monitor.