Against a backdrop of colourful banners and fluttering flags, local Hong Kong politician Allan Wong is trying to get morning commuters excited about the city's upcoming "patriots only" legislature polls -- @AFP

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Wong, 41, is one of 153 people vetted for their political loyalty and allowed to stand in a new system that has drastically curtailed who can run for office.

Hong Kong has never been a full democracy, itself the cause of growing protests over the years.

But until recently, a vocal minority of Beijing critics was tolerated, something that made previous local elections periods of colourful and at times rambunctious debate.

Now the pro-democracy opposition has been demolished under a Beijing-imposed national security law that has criminalised much dissent, combined with new political rules designed to purge "anti-China" elements.

Under the new system, just 20 of the city's 90 legislature seats are directly elected -- down from half. The rest are chosen by reliably pro-Beijing committees. One of those committees is made up of 1,500 people -- 0.02 percent of Hong Kong's population -- and will pick 40 seats.

Additionally, all aspiring candidates now have to be vetted and only those deemed sufficiently patriotic can stand for office.

The result is a comparatively uniform candidate slate jostling for an even smaller piece of the legislative pie this year.

Chinese officials argue their new system will bring Hong Kong back on the right track, after the massive and often violent pro-democracy protests that engulfed the city two years ago.

Officials also say the new system will also ensure the legislature -- a previously boisterous debating chamber -- will no longer be bogged down by the minority opposition filibustering.

Last week senior Chinese official Xia Baolong said Hong Kong had wasted time "blindly seeking Western-style democracy" and argued that a plurality of backgrounds and views was still permitted.

The big question now is whether Hong Kongers will turn out to vote on Sunday under this new system?

Overseas Hong Kong activists have called for a boycott, a stance that is illegal in Hong Kong where a new law criminalises inciting people to cast blank ballots.

Polling has suggested the turnout out could be reduced.

Data from the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute, which showed only around 51 percent of respondents planned to vote -- a record low.

For previous legislature elections between 2004 and 2016, that figure consistently hovered above 80 percent.