Pro-establishment camp fears it will bear the brunt of anger from voters who blame government for chaos in the city.
But opposition lawmakers may pay price for recent escalation in violence, including fiery showdowns at two universities.

Hong Kong is bracing for one of the most unpredictable elections in recent years as millions of voters will elect their district representatives on Sunday, against a backdrop of continuing social unrest that has gripped the city since June.
– Candidates in the pro-establishment camp feared that while many voters were worn down by the seemingly never-ending violence and chaos, they still blamed the government and would take their anger out on the bloc.
“It will be a tough battle,” said Chan Hok-fung, vice-chairman of the pro- Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB).
“A lot of people support the violence so the situation is beyond what we can predict and assess.”
– But there was little more optimism on the other side of the divide. Analysts have warned the increasing violence could sway voters away from the opposition pan-democrats too.
“The pan-democrats have the upper hand, but it isn’t one-sided. I think some voters have switched to the pro-establishment side, so I remain cautious,” said Democratic Party vice-chairman Lo Kin-hei.
Chan and Lo are seeking re-election in Central and Western, and Southern districts respectively. Chan’s opponents are Wong Kin-ching and Lam Suet- ying, while Lo’s sole rival is DAB candidate Tan Jinjie.

Messages circulating online warned young voters not to wear masks or black to avoid being targeted by riot police stationed at the polls.
There were also calls for people to vote early, amid rumours “emergency situations” could force polling stations to close as early as 10.30am and ballots then being counted.

The Registration and Electoral Office clarified that in the event of an emergency, voting at specific polling stations would either be resumed within 90 minutes, or postponed until December 1.
The police force has taken steps to ensure the election runs smoothly. The city’s new police commissioner, Chris Tang Ping-keung, said on Friday that su!cient manpower would be deployed at all polling stations to guard against interference.
“Any violence and disturbance will be against all 7 million people in Hong Kong,” Tang said.

The city’s embattled rail operator, the MTR Corp, will increase security on Sunday fearing the situation could get chaotic, according to Hong Kong Federation of Railway Trade Unions vice-chairman Tam Kin-chiu.
About 1,500 security staff will be deployed, 50 per cent more than on a usual protest weekend.

A record 4.1 million Hong Kong residents are registered to vote in the District Council elections on Sunday, when 1,090 candidates will contest for 452 seats citywide. It will be the first time no candidate is returned uncontested in the district council polls.

A year after the 2014 Occupy protests, the number of district council seats increased to 431 in 2015,
– the pro-establishment camp failed to take advantage and still only managed to win about 300 seats,
– while pro-democracy candidates’ number of seats increased to about 130.
The turnout rate reached a record of 47 per cent in that election.

This Sunday 24, all eyes will be on how the two camps fare and how many voters will come out.
Chinese University political scientist Ivan Choy Chi-keung said that while the turnout could set another record, the overall situation was more unpredictable than before.
“The pan-democrats could have won a landslide victory if the elections had been held in the summer, when the protests erupted,” Choy said. “But after the recent clashes at two universities, undecided voters may be worried about public order and be discouraged from voting.”
He was referring to fiery battles protesters fought with police outside Chinese University on November 12, followed by more confrontations outside Polytechnic University last week.
“It will be difficult for the camp to win more than half of the seats, as some originally envisaged,” Choy said.

Tony Cheung

Additional reporting by Cannix Yau