“Referendum” – Hong Kong’s Limited Democratic System – A Snapshot

• Only half of the 60 members of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council (Legco) are directly elected
• The other half are returned by “functional constituencies”, drawn from trade, business and various professional sectors and special interest groups. Some of these are returned by “corporate voting” – by business chambers and the like
• About 10% of the electorate have the right to vote in these functional constituencies, giving them additional ballots
• Most of the functional constituencies are conservative,  pro-business and pro-Beijing
• Hong Kong people are not permitted to vote for the Chief Executive, who is selected by a 800-member election committee handpicked by Beijing
• Right: The Legislative Council chamber in Hong Kong. Photo by Baycrest. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic