Hong Kong, December 7: Hong Kong voter turnout will be in focus in an election on Sunday, with the population still grieving and traumatised after the worst fire in nearly 80 years that has authorities scrambling to avoid a broader public backlash.
Residents are angry over the blaze that killed at least 159 people and took nearly two days to extinguish. The authorities say substandard building materials used in renovating a high-rise housing estate were responsible for fuelling the fire.
Eager to contain the public dismay, authorities have launched criminal and corruption investigations into the blaze as the city pressed ahead on Sunday with elections for the Legislative Council, in which only candidates vetted as "patriots" by the China-backed Hong Kong government may run.
Beijing has said it would crack down on any "anti-China" protest in the wake of the fire and warned against using the disaster to "disrupt Hong Kong".
China's national security office in Hong Kong warned foreign media on Saturday not to spread "false information" or "smear" government efforts to deal with the fire.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Corporation
