Beijing party, the Democratic Alliance. The turnout was significantly higher than that of the last legislative council election in 2000 when voter turnout was only 43.5 per cent. Since then, the political temperature in Hong Kong has risen considerably with mass protests and China intervening in May to say there will be no universal suffrage for at least the next four years. Campaigning was marred by a succession of scandals and alleged smears including the arrest in China last month of Democratic Party candidate Alex Ho after he was found with a prostitute in his hotel room. Ho was sentenced without trial to six months detention with hard labour but remains a candidate under Hong Kong's election laws because he was not convicted in a court of law. A report by Human Rights Watch released last week described the political atmosphere in Hong Kong as "toxic" and accused Beijing of meddling in the election. Hong Kong's Beijing-appointed leader Tung Chee-hwa was booed and jeered by a small group of protestors when he cast his ballot. He made no comment on the demonstration. Among those heckling him was Hong Kong's best-known political activist Leung Kwok-hung, known as "Long Hair", who stood for election himself and was predicted by exit polls to have won a seat. The polling stations closed at 10:30 p.m. Hong Kong time and most results are expected to be announced in the early hours of Monday morning.
