Hong Kong ( CNN ) -- Two days after Hong Kong 's chief executive relented to protesters ' demands to drop a controversial Chinese education requirement , pro-democracy legislators Monday got a boost from a majority turnout at the polls . More than 1.8 million people -- or 53 % of registered voters -- turned out at the polls Sunday , and pan-democrats won more directly elected seats than the pro-Beijing camp , as well as three of the five so-called super seats . However , pro-Beijing legislators still maintained their dominance at the Legislative Council , thanks to infighting among the pan-democratic factions -- and a system that combines direct and indirect voting via special interest groups . Under Hong Kong 's political system , 35 seats are elected directly by the public ( `` geographic constituencies '' ) and 35 by groups based on professions ( `` functional constituencies '' ) , most of which lean pro-Beijing . In a new complex `` one person-two votes '' arrangement , voters can cast ballots not just within their geographic constituency but also for a list of candidates vying in a `` super lawmaker '' functional constituency . With 27 -- or more than a third -- of the 70 seats won Monday , pan-democrats will still wield veto power and can block constitutional changes . The election comes on the heels of a 10-day hunger strike to protest `` Moral and National Education , '' a curriculum that critics likened to `` brainwashing '' with Chinese propaganda . On Saturday , Chief Executive C.Y . Leung said the decision to teach it would be left to schools . While the emotionally charged education issue led to higher turnout at the polls , the pro-Beijing camp benefited from split votes among the pan-democrats , thanks to bitterness within the coalition over 2010 electoral reforms , one political observer said . Read about the curriculum issue that sparked protests . The radical People Power group had called on supporters to cast blank ballots as a form of protest against pan-democratic parties that sided with the government on the reform package , arguing that it stymied Hong Kong 's path to a full democracy , according to the South China Morning Post . By noon Monday local time , Albert Ho had resigned as leader of the Democratic Party after a poor showing in the elections , even though he was among the lists of candidates that won `` super lawmaker '' seats . `` Pro-democracy voters went for parties that did n't have that kind of bitterness between them , '' said Michael DeGolyer , a professor of government at Hong Kong Baptist University and director of the Hong Kong Transition Project . Among the beneficiaries in the elections were the Civic Party and the new Labor Party , which represent the interests of labor , unionists and populists committed to social programs , he said . `` I do n't think we 'll have progress on the pro-democracy front for a while , '' DeGolyer said . He predicted that Leung may find himself trying to build capital with legislators who are more welfare-oriented and with voters fed up with corruption scandals that dogged his predecessor , Donald Tsang . The elections are the fifth since Hong Kong , a former British colony , was handed over to China in 1997 and became a special administrative region under a `` one country , two systems '' model . CNN 's Tim Schwarz contributed to this report .
More than a majority of voters turn out at election . With more than a third of seats won , pan - democrats still hold the power . This was a day after Hong Kong dropped national education requirement . Pro - Beijing camp benefited from support among pan - democrats , he says .