HONG KONG - Incumbent Donald Tsang trounced his challenger Sunday in Hong Kong's first contested leadership race since it returned to Chinese rule, but the losing candidate said the vote was rigged and demanded greater democracy.
An election committee voted 649-123 to keep Tsang, a bow tie-wearing veteran civil servant, in office for a five-year term, officials said. He had been widely expected to beat his rival, lawmaker Alan Leong, because the panel -- loaded with tycoons and other elites -- has always picked the candidate who has Beijing's blessing.
However, one of Tsang's boldest campaign promises was to hammer out a roadmap and timetable for full democracy in Hong Kong, which has functioned as a semiautonomous Chinese territory since its British colonial era ended in 1997. This was the first time a post-handover leader has made such a specific pledge to deliver democratic reforms.
"I laid out a solid foundation for moving toward universal suffrage," Tsang said in his victory speech.
As the results were announced, Tsang became teary-eyed and he bowed deeply and kissed his wife. His backers in a public gallery yelled, "Donald Tsang, Donald Tsang!" while pro-democracy supporters chanted, "Universal suffrage, universal suffrage!"
Tsang also pledged to clean up Hong Kong's increasingly smoggy skies and build on the city's reputation as a global financial capital.
Leong acknowledged early in the race that he would likely lose, and dismissed the election as he went to cast his ballot. "This is of course a rigged small-circle election," he told reporters.
But Leong also noted it was a historic event because the pro-democracy camp was able to gather enough signatures to get a candidate on the ballot for the first time since the handover. The race also involved the city's first televised election debates, which many thought Leong won.
Lawmakers were allowed to vote in the election, but some pro-democracy legislators decided to protest the event.
Radical pro-democracy lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung, nicknamed "Long Hair" for his hippy looks, showed up at the voting venue wearing a pig mask and a gold Chinese emperor's jacket over a body suit covered with a skeleton pattern.
"Shame, shame! I condemn Donald Tsang and the Chinese government. Down with the small-circle election," said Leung, who also briefly interrupted the results announcement by yelling slogans.
One of Hong Kong's richest men, Richard Li, also called for full democracy as he arrived to cast his ballot. "I hope in five years, the next election, I can vote with the public," said Li, whose father, Li Ka-shing, is the city's wealthiest tycoon.
China's Communist leaders have said Hong Kong is not ready for full democracy, and have declined to say when the time would be right. However, Hong Kong's mini constitution, or Basic Law, says the city should eventually be fully democratic.
Beijing has yet to explicitly endorse Tsang's plan to craft a blueprint for full democracy during his new term. But political scientist Michael DeGolyer believed China's leadership backed the plan.
DeGolyer, a professor of government and international studies at Hong Kong Baptist University, said Beijing doesn't want democracy endlessly debated in Hong Kong. The constant argument and agitation could become a new mantra for demands on mainland China, he said.
"The best way to control it is to solve the issue and just get it off the table," he said.
Ma Ngok, a political analyst at Hong Kong's Chinese University, dismissed Tsang's pledge as being "campaign talk."
He said, "There's a big gap between Beijing and the majority of Hong Kong people as to when Hong Kong can achieve full democracy. I don't think Beijing has the sense of urgency to decide on that."
