Legislative by-elections in Hong Kong, pitched by the leading candidates as a “de facto referendum” for faster political reform, appeared to fall victim to intervention by Beijing as voters yesterday largely shunned the polls.

Five pro-democracy legislators, one from each district represented in the Legislative Council, triggered the election by resigning in January with a plan to campaign for reinstatement against expected opposition from pro-Beijing parties with a platform demanding direct elections for the territory’s chief executive and full legislature in 2012.

The plan ran into trouble when the pro-government parties decided not to contest the by-election after China’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, which usually operates in the shadows, publicly condemned the “so-called referendum” as a “blatant challenge” to China’s authority.