Workers rally after denied vote in HK

HONG KONG. Thousands of eligible voters were unable to cast their votes in Hong Kong on Sunday after the local organizer closed down the polling station while many aspiring voters were still lining up to vote.

In its press statement, Migrant Care said that migrant workers were staging a rally at the polling station in Victoria Park, a popular hang out for low-skilled Indonesian workers.

“Most of them were not registered and the station had to close early because its rented time had already expired,” said the NGO in the statement.

A video posted online appeared to show that the denied voters were mainly suppporters of Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) presidential candidate Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.

“Migrant Care demand the local organizer in Hong Kong and the General Elections Commission [KPU] facilitate the rights of the migrant workers to vote.”

According to Migrant Care, the number of registered voters in Hong Kong has surged to 23.863 from 6,973.

As the country entered the cooling-off period on Sunday following a monthlong presidential campaign, voters overseas began casting their ballots in more than 130 cities around the world. (Haeril Halim)