Four people in Hong Kong were charged on Wednesday for reposting social media content by democracy activists calling for a boycott of the city’s “patriots-only” elections last December.

Authorities last year made it illegal to encourage anyone to boycott elections or falsify their ballot, with offenders facing up to three years in prison and a maximum fine of HK$200,000 (US$25,000).

After huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests took place in Hong Kong in 2019, authorities cracked down on dissent and arrested opponents, while Beijing imposed new rules ensuring only “strong patriots” could run for office.

Some overseas Hong Kong activists – including former pro-democracy lawmaker Ted Hui – condemned the new rules and urged the public to dismiss the recent election as a sham.

The four people, aged 29 to 58, charged on Wednesday are said to have reposted or shown material that “called on others to cast blank votes or not to vote,” according to Hong Kong’s anti-graft agency.

Two of them – physical therapist Wong Chi-yan, 42, and Mabel Yick, 58 – have been accused of sharing content authored by former lawmaker Hui.

The other illegal content allegedly came from democracy activist Sunny Cheung and former county councilor Yau Man-chun, both of whom are also overseas.

Arrest warrants have been issued for all three original authors since late last year, the Independent Commission Against Corruption said in a statement.

At least six exiled democracy activists are wanted by the ICAC for crimes of inciting others to abstain from voting.

This law does not prohibit individuals from voiding ballots or refusing to vote.

Hong Kong is not a democracy – the source of years of protests that were eventually crushed by law enforcement and a national security law that criminalized many dissent.

Just under a quarter of the seats in the city’s legislature are directly elected under a new “patriots-only” system Beijing introduced last year.

All candidates had to be screened for political allegiance, which meant the city’s traditional pro-democracy opposition was frozen.

Voter turnout saw record low turnout and resulted in a 90-seat legislature peppered with pro-government supporters and lacking any opposition.