democracy candidates would win at least 18 of the 30 directly-elected seats available, twice as many as the pro-China camp. The turnout for Hong Kong's third legislature election since 1997 was around 10 per cent higher than in 2000 and is seen as a positive sign for pro-democracy candidates. Sunday's election comes just two months after 530,000 people marched through the streets of Hong Kong demanding universal suffrage. Yeung Sum, head of the Democratic Party which is expected to win the greatest share of the vote, rallied voters on the eve of the poll by calling the election "a referendum on Hong Kong's democracy". After a bruising campaign marred by alleged dirty tricks, he told his supporters on the eve of voting: "A vote for the pro-democracy camp is tantamount to voting for universal suffrage." Pro-democracy legislators hold the greatest share of directly- elected seats on Hong Kong's legislative council and are expected to maintain their dominance Sunday. However, pro-China legislators are likely to maintain control because 30 more seats in so-called functional constituencies are picked by an election committee and largely pro-Beijing professional interest groups. --More 2306 Local Time 2006 GMT
