Universal suffrage is now off the Chinese government’s agenda for Hong Kong and it’s difficult to see the city returning to the path of democratization in the short-term, according to a senior political scholar.

Elections in Hong Kong are unlikely to any longer represent public opinion and the government will no longer adjust its policies to take heed of the legislature or of public voices, said Ma Ngok, associate professor in the Department of Government and Public Administration at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Public interest in elections will likely be greatly reduced following the Chinese government’s reform of the electoral system, with this reflected in future voter turnouts, Ma said.

Since the pro-establishment camp will not have election opponents in the future, Ma said, he expected that they would ignore popular demands. Non-governmental organizations with different political views would also face challenges, he predicted.

Pro-establishment figures have insisted that the principle of “patriots governing Hong Kong” does not mean that incompetent people will be elected, and the election committee will seek out the most capable people to participate in Hong Kong’s governance.

Ma said that in the past, Hong Kong had what could be described as a “free dictatorship,” where it was still possible to reflect public opinion through elections. But following the Chinese government’s reforms, Ma said, he expected that a large number of pro-establishment figures that would not have a popular mandate.

Ma dismissed suggestions that voters should cast blank or spoiled ballots in an election that no longer represents the people, saying that overseas examples showed this only had a one-off publicity effect.

The National People’s Congress passed a decision last week that will increase the number of seats in the Legislative Council from 70 to 90, an unknown proportion of which will be selected by an election committee.

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