On Sunday, more than 10,000 police officers were on the streets of Hong Kong to “ensure a smooth process,” according to police chief Raymond Siu.
Voting in Hong Kong’s legislative council election has begun, the first such poll since China overhauled the system.
Officials approved a contentious “patriots” resolution in March, drastically reducing democratic representation and allowing Beijing to vet every candidate.
Hong Kong’s leaders have insisted that change is required to ensure stability.
However, critics claim that it has weakened democracy in the city.
It comes after China passed a national security law that makes it easier to prosecute pro-democracy protesters following massive protests in the territory in 2019.
The polls opened at 08:30 a.m. local time (0:30 a.m. GMT) and will close at 22:30 p.m. The full set of results is not expected until Monday.
The Legislative Council, also known as LegCo, is a powerful body in Hong Kong that makes and amends laws.
Only 20 of the 90 legislative seats will be directly elected, with 40 selected by the pro-Beijing Election Committee and 30 selected by special interest groups such as business and trade, both of which have historically supported Beijing.
Government officials urged the city’s 4.5 million registered voters to vote in the election on Saturday, sending out mass texts to encourage a higher turnout.
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Starry Lee, the leader of the largest pro-Beijing party DAB, told reporters that “polling station feedback revealed that not many people are voting” and urged residents to vote.
However, one woman, an accountant in her twenties, told the AFP news agency that she had no plans to vote. “My vote will be meaningless because the people of Beijing will ultimately win,” she said.
According to data released on Sunday, turnout was lower than in previous elections. According to Reuters, eight hours after polls opened, official figures showed that 21% of the electorate had voted, down from 31% at the same point in 2016.
Many oppositions or pro-democracy figures in Hong Kong have been imprisoned, barred from voting, or fled into exile. In May, prominent activist Joshua Wong was sentenced to ten months in prison for participating in an unlicensed vigil commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.
“People do not want to vote for a rubber-stamp chamber that pretends everything is fine,” Nathan Law, a former legislator who lives in the United Kingdom and is wanted by Hong Kong authorities, tweeted.
As a form of protest, some activists have urged people to boycott the election or leave their ballots blank. While voting with a blank ballot is still legal, it is now illegal to incite anyone to do so or to encourage them not to vote.
