Some defunct restaurants and food manufacturers in Hong Kong are still listed in the government’s registers as valid voters of a trade-sector constituency, an Apple Daily investigation has found, making it possible for so-called phantom voters to cast ballots in the upcoming Legislative Council election.

The investigation uncovered two outlets of the Yoshinoya fast-food chain that remained on the voter registers despite having ceased operations.

The restaurant licenses of Yoshinoya (GNC) Ltd in Sheung Wan and Yoshinoya (APM) Ltd in Kwun Tong were cancelled after the outlets closed in March and May respectively. But their names were found in the provisional registers released in June.

Consumers regard Yoshinoya as pro-Beijing, belonging to what came to be defined as Hong Kong’s “blue-ribbon economy” after last year’s anti-extradition bill protests broke out. It has lately registered 58 of its outlets as voters in the functional constituency of catering.

According to instructions issued by the government’s Registration and Electoral Office, a restaurant has to be operating for one year to qualify as a voter.

The September election is shaping up to be an unprecedentedly heated race as both the pro-democracy and pro-Beijing camps mobilise their supporters to register for the voting.

The pro-democracy camp aims to win at least 35 seats, which will guarantee control of the 70-member legislature and allow it to push ahead with a range of demands arising from the year-long protests, including an independent investigation into police brutality.

One hotly contested seat would be that of the catering constituency, one of 35 functional constituencies elected by a small group of industry players and usually dominated by pro-Beijing business figures.

Apart from Yoshinoya, Apple Daily found that a food manufacturer operated by Eurosia Holdings Ltd also appeared in the updated registers although it had been listed as “inactive” in the Companies Registry since September 2014.

A now-defunct outlet of Korean restaurant Yoogane in Sha Tin, operated by LHG on a franchise, was on the voter registers as well.

LHG said it would notify the Registration and Electoral Office about the latest status of the outlet and tell employees not to vote in future elections. It explained that there was a “time discrepancy” between the outlet’s closure and the voters’ registrations.

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