Hong Kong election turnout in focus amid anger over deadly fire

Hong Kong's citizens were voting on Sunday in an election where the focus is on turnout, with residents grieving and traumatised after the city’s worst fire in nearly 80 years and the authorities scrambling to avoid a broader public backlash.

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Security was tight in the northern district of Tai Po, close to the border with mainland China, where the fire engulfed seven towers. The city is holding elections for the Legislative Council, in which only candidates vetted as “patriots” by the China-backed Hong Kong government may run.

Residents are angry over the blaze that killed at least 159 people and took nearly two days to extinguish after it broke out on Nov.26. The authorities say substandard building materials used in renovating a high-rise housing estate were responsible for fuelling the fire.

At the start of the day, Hong Kong leader John Lee again urged the public to head to the polls. "(Your) vote represents a vote that pushes forward reform, and a vote to protect those affected by the disaster," Lee told reporters after casting his ballot. The government will propose a bill at the first meeting of the new Legislative Council to discuss relief and rebuilding efforts.

Eager to contain the public dismay, authorities have launched criminal and corruption investigations into the blaze, and roughly 100 police patrolled the area around Wang Fuk Court, the site of the fire, early on Sunday.