Voting is underway in Hong Kong district council elections amid a backdrop of political uncertainty and violent protests that have escalated in the past fortnight.
In the first four hours of voting, 1 million people had cast their ballots out of the record 4.1 million registered voters.
Voting began peacefully on Sunday morning, with riot police a visible presence on the streets and at polling booths after nearly six months of sometimes violent unrest in the Chinese-controlled city.
Citing a senior police source, the South China Morning Post said on Friday that riot police would guard all polling stations for the first time and almost all officers in the 31,000-strong force would be on duty.
Brutal attacks on candidates have thrust Hong Kong's lowest-tier government onto the international stage, with the district elections seen as an important barometer of support for leader Carrie Lam's embattled administration.
Ms Lam said after voting that organising the election was extremely challenging because of the unrest but she hoped for a "relatively peaceful and calm environment".
"I hope this kind of stability and calm is not only for today's election, but to show that everyone does not want Hong Kong to fall into a chaotic situation again, hoping to get out of this dilemma, and let us have a fresh start," she said.
One of the most prominent pro-democracy advocates, Joshua Wong, was barred from running by the electoral board due to a controversial political screening that was instituted three years ago.
Mr Wong voted as soon as the polls opened at 7:30am and said that him being banned from running only strengthened his resolve.
"Even if they censor me out from the ballot, lock me out in prison, it will just encourage me to continue to fight for the future with even stronger determination," Mr Wong told reporters.
Mr Wong earlier tweeted his encouragement for those in Hong Kong to make their voices heard and vote and said it was "lucky the Government hasn't cancelled the community-based district council election".
A record 1,104 people are running for 452 district seats.
The winning councillors will control some local spending, and their daily decision making spans a range of neighbourhood issues including recycling, transport and public healthcare.
On Hong Kong Island, siblings Sabrina and Daven Chau said the vote was a chance for them to express their views on the Government.
Mr Chau, a consultant, said he hoped people would vote "wisely".
Of the recent clashes around the Polytechnic University, Ms Chau said "I think violence is a must", and blamed police for the escalation.
"It's action and reaction," she added.
Michael, an Australian resident in Hong Kong, who did not want to give his surname, said he thought the pro-democracy candidates would not do well.
He said "the pan-democratic movement had failed to condemn the violence".
Speaking after casting his vote, he blamed the violence on protesters and said "the ex-pat community is sick of the disruption".
At the moment, district councils are the only wholly democratic level of government but as recently as the last elections four years ago, 66 district councillors were returned unopposed.
This time there will be a contest for every seat in the 18 district councils and some of the seats that were once uncontested, and dominated by pro-Beijing candidates, are now being fought for by young pro-democracy activists.
The hope for those who are running on a pro-Democracy ticket is that they will win a larger share of seats, which will give them more say over electing a chief executive who is chosen by a small body of Beijing loyalists. District councillors account for 10 per cent of the total 1,200 votes for the post.
Many people wanted to cast their vote early in the elections due to the turnout or fears that violence could once again erupt later on.
Chan, 31, who was in front of the queue at the Fung Kam Sports Centre in Yuen Long, said she came early because she was expecting a big turnout.
"I have not seen an election like this before, but because of the situation it is important to vote — and I know many people feel like me," said Chan, who works in sales.
She said she grew up in Yuen Long but did not want to reveal any political allegiances.
Also voting early, IT worker Kevin Lai said "some people are afraid the elections will be stopped by unpredictable reasons, maybe some protests".
"We have to show we stand with Hong Kong. Most of the councillors stand with the Government and are not helping Hong Kong."
How Hong Kong descended into chaos
The protests started over a now-withdrawn bill that would have allowed people to be sent to China for trial, but which soon evolved into calls for full democracy, posing the biggest popular challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2012.
Although officials formally withdrew the bill last month, public anger remains intense driven by the authorities' refusal to address protesters' demands for an independent inquiry against alleged police brutality; amnesty for the more than 1,000 people charged with offences stemming from the protests.
The anger of protesters rose after 22-year-old student Chow Tze-lok fell in a car park as he was allegedly trying to get away from tear gas fired by police. He died several days later.
In the past week, those protests turned into what Hong Kong police officially called a riot as protesters barricaded themselves inside the Polytechnic University in the busy downtown suburb of Kowloon in demonstrations that saw protesters launch molotov cocktails at police as well as fire arrows.
ABC/Reuters
