The vote limits residents’ choice between Beijing loyalists after the pro-democracy camp won a landslide victory in 2019.

Hong Kong has started voting in its first “patriots-only” district council election after an electoral reform that has made it nearly impossible for pro-democracy candidates to take part in the election.

Sunday’s vote, in which residents can only choose between hand-picked Beijing loyalists, comes after Hong Kongers handed pro-democracy candidates their biggest victory in the Chinese-ruled city’s history in the last district election in 2019.

The pro-democracy landslide, which followed a record 71 percent turnout, was seen as an embarrassing blow to Chinese and Hong Kong authorities after months of mass anti-government protests.

Under the revised electoral system announced in May, only 88 of the 470 seats are directly elected and candidates must be approved by government-appointed committees.

More than 70 percent of candidates for directly elected seats are themselves members of vetting committees.

The Democratic Party, Hong Kong’s main opposition party, failed to secure nominations for any of its candidates, while centrists and even moderate pro-establishment supporters complained that they were left out of the new rules.

The electoral reform was followed by the passage of a draconian national security law in 2020 that would curb democratic activism in the former British colony, which is said to enjoy freedoms not found in mainland China under an arrangement called “One Country, Two Systems.” has all but wiped out.”

Although they insist that turnout does not determine the success of the election, Hong Kong officials have tried to drum up enthusiasm among the public by organizing free concerts and fairs, waiving entry fees to museums, putting up posters and offering payments to community centers to encourage older people to vote.

Authorities have warned against any attempt to undermine the election and have reportedly deployed more than 12,000 police officers across the city.

Three members of the League of Social Democrats, a social democratic party, were arrested on Sunday after announcing plans to stage a protest outside Hong Kong leader John Lee’s polling station, the party said.

On Friday, national security police arrested a 77-year-old man on suspicion of preparing to commit sedition over alleged anti-election protests.

Earlier this week, authorities charged a 38-year-old man for allegedly reposting a video of a foreign commentator calling for a boycott, and issued an arrest warrant for a Germany-based activist accused of encouraging people to do so , not to choose.

Many Hong Kongers have nevertheless expressed indifference to the vote, citing its weak connection to public opinion.

According to the Hong Kong Information Services Department, voter turnout was just over 6 percent as of 10:30 a.m. (2:30 GMT) – well below 2019 levels.

Voter turnout in the city’s last general election in 2021 was 30 percent, compared to 58 percent under the more democratic rules in place in the 2016 election.

Finn Lau, a Hong Kong democracy activist based in the United Kingdom, called the vote “pointless.”

“It’s a complete joke. “It is pointless to vote in such a completely controlled system created by the Beijing regime and the Hong Kong authorities,” Lau told Al Jazeera.

“It is completely pointless because they are trying to use this so-called election to build legitimacy for their autocratic actions as well as the suppression of civil liberties, the destruction of the rule of law and the international promises made under the Sino-British Joint Declaration.”