1607
CONFIDENTIAL
FM HONG KONG
TO IMMEDIATE FCO
TELNO 1070
OF 120612Z MARCH 88
INFO IMMEDIATE PEKING
CONFIDENTIAL
HKB 1
INFO PRIORITY HKGOS WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, BRUSSELS,
005756
MDHIAN 1843
TOP COPY
O DIST ?
GENEVA
INFO PRIORITY HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE LONDON, UKMIS GENEVA INFO SAVING SAN FRANCISCO
CORRECTED VERSION
DISTRICT BOARD ELECTIONS HELD ON 10 MARCH 1988
SUMMARY
1. ELECTIONS TO THE NEXT TERM OF THE 19 DISTRICT BOARDS (1988-91) WERE CONDUCTED ON 10 MARCH 1988. 264 CANDIDATES WERE ELECTED
INCLUDING 34 RETURNED UNOPPOSED.
DETAIL:
VOTER TURNOUT:
2 1,610,998 VOTERS WERE REGISTERED FOR THE ELECTIONS. OF THESE, 209,308 WERE NOT REQUIRED TO VOTE AS 34 CANDIDATES IN 21 CONSTITUENCIES WERE RETURNED UNOPPOSED, LEAVING 230 SEATS TO BE DECIDED BY THE REMAINING 1,401,690 VOTERS. OF THESE, 424,444 (30.3 PERCENT) TURNED OUT TO VOTE, COMPARED WITH 476,530 (37.5 PERCENT) IN 1985.
3. IN TERMS OF ABSOLUTE NUMBER, THE VOTER TURNOUT THIS TIME HAS DROPPED BY 52,086 COMPARED WITH 1985. THE DROP COULD BE ATTRIBUTED TO A COMBINATION OF THE FOLLOWING POSSIBLE FACTORS :
(A) MORE SEATS ARE UNCONTESTED (34 THIS TIME COMPARED WITH 24 IN
1985):
(B) REARRANGEMENT OF SOME CONSTITUENCIES:
(C) SHIFT OF POPULATION: AND
(D) LESS OVERALL RATIO OF NUMBER OF CANDIDATES TO ELECTED SEATS.
NEVERTHELESS THE VOTER TURNOUT RATE OF 30 PER CENT IS A RESPECTABLE FIGURE FOR DISTRICT ELECTIONS. IT IS ALSO WORTH NOTING THAT IN FOUR DISTRICTS (SOUTHERN, WONG TAI SIN, NORTH, TAI PO) THE NUMBER OF VOTER WHO VOTED THIS TIME WAS HIGHER THAN THAT IN 1985.
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4. KWUN TONG HAD THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF VOTER TURNOUT (44,824),
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