HK authorities apologise but democrats want probe

HONG KONG – Hong Kong authorities defended themselves yesterday against complaints of poor organisation of Sunday’s legislative election and insisted the poll was open and honest, but democracy activists demanded an inquiry.

Election officials apologised for blunders in the vote, in which the pro-Beijing camp defied expectations to retain 34 seats while pro-democracy politicians failed to do as well as they had hoped, winning only 25 seats in the 60-member chamber. Wary of vexing Beijing and keen to safeguard economic prosperity that depends on the mainland, voters ensured a better-than-expected showing for the pro-Beijing camp.- Nampa-ReutersWary of vexing Beijing and keen to safeguard economic prosperity that depends on the mainland, voters ensured a better-than-expected showing for the pro-Beijing camp.- Nampa-Reuters