Staff deliver the various party's promotional leaflet of the Legislative Council election to passersby in Hong Kong Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008. Hong Kong residents voted Sunday in legislative elections that threatened to set back the opposition camp and its push for greater democratic freedoms in the Chinese-ruled territory.
(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Democrats retain veto power in Hong Kong election
Staff deliver the various party's promotional leaflet of the Legislative Council election to passersby in Hong Kong Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008. Hong Kong residents voted Sunday in legislative elections that threatened to set back the opposition camp and its push for greater democratic freedoms in the Chinese-ruled territory.
(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
By
Dikky Sinn
Associated Press Writer
/
September 7, 2008
- |
HONG KONG—Hong Kong's pro-democracy camp has won more than a third of seats in legislative elections, retaining its veto power over major legislation.
Results announced Monday show the opposition has claimed at least 22 of 60 seats in the legislature. The key threshold for pro-democracy parties was 21 seats -- a number that would allow them to block major legislation that requires a two-thirds majority for passage.
The pro-democracy camp had been expected to suffer a setback in the election after China gave a timetable for democratic reform in Hong Kong last year.
Half of Hong Kong's legislative seats are directly elected by voters, with the rest chosen by special interest groups.
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