(VOVworld) – On Sunday, polling stations at the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region opened for registered voters to cast their votes for the Legislative Council.

A police officer stands outside a polling station for the legislative council election Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016 (Photo: The Associated Press)

This is considered the most important election since the handover from Britain in 1997. The Legislative Council has 70 members. About 3.8 million voters are choosing lawmakers to fill 35 seats in geographic constituencies among a total of 84 candidates. Another 30 seats are chosen by members representing business and trade groups such as accounting, finance, medicine, and fisheries. Voting ends at 10:30 p.m. and vote counting is conducted overnight.