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'HK PEOPLE REALISING THEY HAVE A VOICE'
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THE LARGE NUMBER OF VOTERS WHO TURNED UP IN TODAY'S ELECTIONS SHOWED THAT THERE WAS AN INCREASING INTEREST AND PARTICIPATION BY THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG IN GOVERNMENT MATTERS, REALISING THAT THEY HAD A VOICE, THE CHIEF SECRETARY, SIR DAVID AKERS-JONES, SAID THIS (THURSDAY) EVENING.
SPEAKING TO REPORTERS WHEN TOURING THE PRESS CENTRE IN THE CITY AND NEW TERRITORIES ADMINISTRATION HEADQUARTERS, SIR DAVID NOTED THAT THE SLOGAN FOR LAST YEAR'S ELECTIONS WAS +A VOICE IS A VOTE+.
+ I THINK THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG ARE REALISING THAT THEY DO HAVE A VOICE, HE SAID.
SIR DAVID SAID THE ELECTIONS HAD BEEN GOING ON BETTER THAN ONE WOULD HAVE EXPECTED, NOTING THAT ONE SHOULD NOT LOOK AT THE PERCENTAGE OF VOTER TURNOUT, BUT THE ACTUAL NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO CAME OUT AND VOTED TODAY.
HE RECALLED THAT ONLY ABOUT 8 000 VOTERS CAST THEIR VOTES DURING THE URBAN COUNCIL ELECTIONS SEVERAL YEARS AGO. BUT SO FAR, WITH ABOUT TWO HOURS BEFORE POLLING CLOSED, MORE THAN 200 000 PEOPLE HAD CAST THE IR BALLOTS IN TODAY'S ELECTIONS.
+30 THIS IS A TREMENDOUS CHANGE FROM THE PATTERN OF THE PAST. AND THAT IS, I THINK, WHAT ONE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT RATHER THAN THE PERCENTAGE, HE SAID.
SIR DAVID SAID THAT THERE HAD BEEN VERY KEEN INTEREST IN SOME DISTRICTS AMONG THE VOTERS, NOTING THAT MORE THAN 30 PER CENT OF THE VOTERS IN THESE AREAS HAD COME OUT TO CAST THEIR BALLOTS.
AS ELECTIONS WERE COMPARATIVELY NEW IN HONG KONG, SIR DAVID SAID SO FAR HE WAS VERY PLEASED WITH THE RESULTS.
VOTER TURNOUT EXPECTED TO PICK UP - CS
THE CHIEF SECRETARY
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SIR DAVID AKERS-JONES, SAID THE VOTER TURNOUT SO FAR IN TODAY'S URBAN COUNCIL AND REGIONAL COUNCIL ELECTIONS HAD BEEN EXTREMELY ENCOURAGING AND THAT HE HOPED ABOUT 30 PER CENT OF THE ELECTORATE WOULD CAST THEIR VOTES AT THE END OF THE DAY.
+1 AM SURE THE TURNOUT LATER THIS EVENING WHEN PEOPLE GET HOME FROM WORK WILL BE VERY GOOD, HE SAID.
/+I HOPE