Hong Kong’s first “patriots-only” Legislative Council completed a historic four-year term on October 24. The next general election is set to be held on December 7. In 2021, Beijing overhauled the city’s electoral system to require all lawmakers to be patriots. The government said then that the legislature must comprise representatives who can safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, respect the country’s fundamental system and constitutional order of the city as well as maintain its prosperity and stability. After years of gridlock in a legislature with a sizable opposition camp and in response to the 2019 anti-government protests, the Legislative Council was expanded to introduce a new Election Committee constituency while the number of directly elected seats was slashed. All directly-elected candidates need to secure a minimum of 10 votes - at least two from across five sectors of the 1,500-strong Election Committee - before they can stand for election. While the first term of the newly-constituted Legco was smooth and largely uneventful as cordial relations with the government meant efficient policy-making, a key concern was a politically detached public. Legco president Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen conceded the legislative process in Hong Kong was now “boring” and rarely “sensational” but added it was a common challenge other countries also faced trying to engage constituents. How have the current lawmakers engaged with their voters? Will voting improve in the coming election? Here is what you need to know about Legco and the polls.

Composition of the ‘patriots-only’ Legco The legislature used to have 70 seats, split evenly between two constituencies: popularly elected geographical constituencies and trade-based functional constituencies. Following the overhaul in 2021, 40 Legco members - the biggest proportion - in the now expanded 90-seat legislature are chosen by a powerful Election Committee dominated by patriots. Another 30 seats are for functional constituencies, while the remaining 20 are allocated to members dire