The vice-president of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, Tam Yiu-chung, on Monday said the 27.54 percent turnout in this year's district council elections was in line with expectations.

On an RTHK programme, Tam said he believes the voting rate was lower than that in the last Legislative Council elections because people care more about Legco than the district councils.

"And another reason is that many people went overseas or to the mainland after the pandemic, so fewer people cast their ballots," he added.

Asked about a computer glitch that forced an extension to voting hours, Tam said it was important to have a contingency plan in case anything went wrong.

"If you rely on computers, you must come up with backup plans. Like when there were problems with an online venue booking system earlier... This kind of thing happens often. But this is an election that everyone is watching, so I think we need to consolidate our experience," he said.