Nine hours into the Hong Kong Legislative Council election, about 95.4 percent, or 1,381, of the 1,448 members in the Election Committee constituency have cast their ballots as of 5:30 pm on Sunday, the official data shows.

Pamela Mak Mei-yee, president of the Hong Kong Small and Medium Enterprises Association, attributed the high voter turnout rate to the huge responsibility carried by members in the Election Committee, as they need to elect 40 LegCo members under the improved electoral system.

Members of the committee, who are representatives of all trades, are expecting changes in the city after various trades were badly affected by years of social unrest, the China-US trade tensions as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mak said the new electoral system will bring more inclusiveness as candidates come from different backgrounds, covering the political, business and professionals sectors as well as the grassroots.

She added that she believes that the knowledge, insight and ability of those come into office, will help to solve Hong Kong's problems.

Polls opened at 8:30 am on Sunday and will close at 10:30 pm. There are more than 600 polling stations across Hong Kong for about 4.5 million registered electors to cast their votes to return 90 lawmakers for the seventh-term council for the next four years. Among these seats, 20 will be elected by geographic constituencies and 30 will be returned from functional constituencies.

xinlanzeng@chinadailyhk.com