Hong Kong leader admits 'deficiencies in governance' led to defeat in elections

Hong Kong embattled leader Carrie Lam on Tuesday admitted that the "deficiencies in governance" led to the landslide defeat in the recently concluded elections.

However, she again ruled out addressing protesters' five demands.

Speaking to the press ahead of the weekly Executive Council meeting, Lam said that it was not up to the government to interpret the results. She conceded a large number of voters had gone to the polls to express their views on a range of issues in society, South China Morning Post reported.

"I would readily accept that includes deficiencies in governance and unhappiness with the time taken to deal with the current unstable environment," she said.

Pro-democracy candidates secured major gains in Hong Kong's district council elections, as early results trickled in Monday morning, with multiple high-profile pro-government figures losing their seats.

More than 2.9 million people turned out to vote in Sunday's elections, which have been framed as a de facto referendum on the almost six months of ongoing protests in the semi-autonomous city. With more than 95 percent of constituencies declared, pro-democracy candidates appeared to have won a landslide victory, CNN reported.

Hong Kong is grappled in the protests since June with people hit the street against the Chinese backed government. The past few days have witnessed some of the most violent scenes in Hong Kong since the beginning of the protests back in June.

Lam said that Beijing is not holding her accountable for the defeat.

"Everyone values the results for sure, but the process is also important," she said. "If we held an election that contravened the principle of rule of law and fairness, that would have caused much more harm to Hong Kong.