FILE PHOTO: A man walks past campaign posters ahead of the upcoming Legislative Council election, near the deadly fire at Wang Fuk Court housing complex in Hong Kong, China November 27, 2025. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo

HONG KONG, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Hong Kong voter turnout will be in focus in an election on Sunday, with the population still grieving and traumatised after the worst fire in nearly 80 years that has authorities scrambling to avoid a broader public backlash.

Residents are angry over the blaze that killed at least 159 people and took nearly two days to extinguish. The authorities say substandard building materials used in renovating a high-rise housing estate were responsible for fuelling the fire.

Eager to contain the public dismay, authorities have launched criminal and corruption investigations into the blaze as the city pressed ahead on Sunday with elections for the Legislative Council, in which only candidates vetted as "patriots" by the China-backed Hong Kong government may run.

Beijing has said it would crack down on any "anti-China" protest in the wake of the fire and warned against using the disaster to "disrupt Hong Kong".

China's national security office in Hong Kong warned foreign media on Saturday not to spread "false information" or "smear" government efforts to deal with the fire.

'EVERYONE SHOULD CAST A CRITICAL VOTE'

The blaze that engulfed seven towers at the Wang Fuk Court complex is a major test of Beijing's grip on the former British colony, which it has transformed under a national security law after mass pro-democracy protests in 2019.

An election overhaul in 2021 also mandated that only pro-Beijing "patriots" could run for the global financial hub's 90-seat legislature and, analysts say, further reduced the space for meaningful democratic participation.

Publicly inciting a vote boycott was criminalised in 2021 as part of the sweeping changes that effectively squeezed out pro-democracy voices in Hong Kong. Pro-democracy voters, who traditionally made up about 60% of Hong Kong's electorate, have since shunned elections.

Seven people had been arrested as of Thursday for inciting others not to vote, the city's anti-corruption body said.

"I stress here that everyone should cast a critical vote, because this vote represents a vote to reform the system, represents a vote to safeguard the affected residents," Hong Kong leader John Lee said on Friday.

Hong Kong's national security office urged residents on Thursday to "actively participate in voting", saying it was critical in supporting reconstruction efforts by the government after the fire.

"Every voter is a stakeholder in the homeland of Hong Kong," the office said in a statement. "If you truly love Hong Kong, you will vote sincerely."

Campaigning has been subdued since the fire in the Tai Po district near the border with mainland China, with fewer street booths and banners as the city mourns the dead.

The last Legislative Council elections in 2021 recorded the lowest voter turnout - 30.2% - since Britain returned Hong Kong to Chinese rule in 1997.

(Reporting by Hong Kong newsroom; Writing by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by William Mallard)