1971 Hong Kong municipal election

1971 Hong Kong municipal election

3 March 1971
5 (of the 10) elected seats to the Urban Council
Registered	37,778 9.85%
Turnout	10,047 (26.59%) 2.81pp
First party Second party   Leader Hilton Cheong-Leen Brook Bernacchi Party Civic Reform Seats before 5 3 Seats after 5 3 Seat change Popular vote 13,016 6,139 Percentage 34.38% 16.22% Swing 8.20pp 33.00pp

The 1971 Hong Kong Urban Council election was held on 3 March 1971 for the five of the ten elected seats of the Urban Council of Hong Kong. 10,047 of the 37,778 eligible voters cast their votes, the turnout rate was 26.6 per cent, slightly better than the previous election in 1969.

Cecilia Yeung of the Reform Club of Hong Kong won the seat onto the Urban Council, becoming the first Chinese woman ever elected to this Council, edging out incumbent Solomon Rafeek with a margin of 139 votes. Elsie Elliott, who was dubbed as the "Queen of the Polls", led the field of ten candidates with 7,578 votes, topping her 1967 record by more than 500 votes.

Outcome

Urban Council Election 1971

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Elsie Elliott	7,578	20.02	+4.69
	Civic	Hilton Cheong-Leen	5,790	15.29	+3.89
	Independent	Denny M. H. Huang	5,550	14.66	+1.65
	Civic	Charles C. C. Sin	3,898	10.30	New
	Reform	Cecilia L. Y. Yeung	3,534	9.33	New
	Independent	Solomon Rafeek	3,395	8.97	+0.31
	Reform	Patrick P. T. Wong	2,605	6.88
	Independent	L. K. Ding	2,182	5.76
	Civic	Edmund W. H. Chow	1,693	4.47
	Civic	George K. F. Li	1,635	4.32
Turnout			10,047	26.59	+2.81
Registered electors			37,778		+9.85

References

• Lau, Y.W. (2002). A history of the municipal councils of Hong Kong : 1883-1999 : from the Sanitary Board to the Urban Council and the Regional Council. Leisure and Cultural Service Dept.
• Pepper, Suzanne (2008). Keeping Democracy at Bay:Hong Kong and the Challenge of Chinese Political Reform. Rowman & Littlefield.