Scanners against spoilt ballots, Hong Kong’s latest election scam
Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing administration wants to introduce “smart ballot boxes” for next year’s legislative election, already restricted to “patriotic" candidates. Scanners would warn voters of any “error” in their ballot in what is another form of psychological pressure.
Hong Kong (AsiaNews) – In Hong Kong's increasingly surreal electoral process, the local administration is studying the possibility of introducing “smart ballot boxes" to warn voters if they cast their vote incorrectly.
This "innovation" is expected to be in place ahead of next year’s Legislative Council (LegCo) when its current four-year mandate expires.
It is worth reviewing what LegCo elections have already become after Beijing’s crackdown against the pro-democracy demonstrations in 2019.
The 2020 election was postponed (ostensibly due to the COVID-19 pandemic) to 19 December 2021 with the main opposition leaders jailed for organising primary elections meant to form a coalition and win in all constituencies (the only way to obtain a majority, given that a large share of LecCo seats was reserved for representatives designated by pro-Beijing bodies).
Only candidates loyal to the line imposed on Hong Kong by Xi Jinping were admitted to run. Unsurprisingly, the turnout for the 2021 election collapsed to 30.2 per cent of voters, 28 fewer percentage points than in the previous election (2016), when it was still possible to express a different opinion, even in a system where the head of the government is imposed from above.
Even among the approximately 1,350,000 voters who went to the polls in 2021, 27,495 (just over 2 per cent) spoilt their ballot, expressing their dissent.
Now John Lee's government seems bent on preventing this as well, through so-called smart ballot boxes equipped with a scanner to warn voters that their vote had been filled in incorrectly.
Obviously, everything is presented as an extra "service" to prevent errors in filling out the ballot. But such diligence in a system already compromised by the impossibility of voting freely has raised an eyebrow even among some outgoing LegCo members who just a few months ago voted unanimously to further tighten the national security law under Article 23 of Hong Kong's Basic Law.
Concerns were raised about the secrecy of the vote and the possibility of choosing to spoil the ballot.
For Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang, there is no issue since the proposed arrangement is aimed at protecting voter rights since scanners cannot match ballots to voter IDs.
Hong Kong leader John Lee today told reports upcoming election arrangements would be “satisfactory”.
The Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau expects to present the bill to the LegCo by the end of March 2025.
It should be noted that calling on voters in Hong Kong to spoil their ballots is an offence. In such a context, it is clear that "smart ballot boxes" are as an additional tool of psychological pressure on people to discourage even the most hidden forms of dissent.
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08/05/2020 17:33
19/03/2024 17:53
