Setback for democrats

Hong Kong

Pro-democracy candidates failed to win a majority of seats in Hong Kong’s legislative elections this week, despite getting a clear majority of votes. A record 1.6 million voters turned out, and two-thirds of them chose the democrats. But the electoral rules, set by Beijing, allocate half the seats to industry groups that support the central government, while the rest are distributed according to a complicated system that favors pro-government candidates. The legislative council has little real power, but democrats had hoped for a majority so they could lobby for full elections in the future.