With the dust settling on Hong Kong’s election for the eighth-term Legislative Council (LegCo), a younger composition of lawmakers-elect and discernible changes in geographical constituency voting patterns bring to the fore real possibilities of rethinking community relations and systematic knowledge transfer from veterans.

Forty new faces will be taking the oath next month, eight of them directly elected from 10 geographical constituencies with a cumulative voter strength of over 4.1 million. If we take that into account, along with an increase in the elector turnout on Dec 7 — indicating keener popular participation in public affairs — it would appear that many incumbents faced unfavorable scrutiny. Anti-incumbency is a fact of any election. But it has its benefits. Not only does it refresh the new-term LegCo cohort, adding fresh perspectives and infusing lawmaking with contemporariness, it also provides a chance to reflect, correct course as necessary, and — for old hands — to offer guidance and focused mentorship that builds on both their experience and electoral lessons.

If we look at voting patterns, political parties primarily experienced — as the case may be — a shrinkage in direct votes, an expansion of the voter base, and paring of LegCo representation. The shrinkage in direct votes was despite unchanged LegCo representation from the geographical constituencies, as was the case with the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong or the inroads made by the Federation of Trade Unions, despite heavyweights biting the dust.

In a multiparty political space where the mandate comes directly from the public, the loss of one party is, naturally, the gain of another. But it would be a mistake to take the absolute number of LegCo seats as a measure of true performance, because discernable changes in the vote share usually tell the real story of public allegiance.

Let’s take the case of the New People’s Party, whose share of LegCo seats went down to three from six. As widely reported, its leader, Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, said she was satisfied with her party’s performance because it garnered a proportion of votes similar to that of 2021 — about 11 percent of the total — essentially indicating unchanged public allegiance.

For candidates winning by a razor-thin margin in geographical constituencies, where the contest could have gone either way, the vote share should be considered the true barometer instead of the final win because they will likely need to work harder to win over their constituents in the coming days. How they engage in proactive community relations during their term will go a long way toward consolidating their positions. These lawmakers have a real opportunity to work closely with the district councilors who tend to have their finger on the grassroots pulse, and they should make use of that.

Speaking of collaboration, the election also offers rookie lawmakers a chance to seek guidance from old hands across the political spectrum, especially those who bowed out ahead of the election or were voted out on Sunday. The veteran perspective is priceless, especially when removed from the center of power. Other than a deep understanding of the system, their detachment, as in any profession, brings to the table a fresh-eyed standpoint that has an excellent chance of resonating with the younger LegCo cohort eager to make their mark.

As Tennyson wrote, “The old order changeth, yielding place to new.” The new order may already be preparing its own roadmap, but the veterans have much to give. Lawmaking is an inherently collaborative process and there is no age at which people stop learning. In public service, no one is a has-been.

The author is an award-winning English-language fiction writer and current-affairs commentator.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.