Pro-Beijing candidates are running uncontested for most seats in a Hong Kong election committee tasked with choosing the city's leader, with the pro-democracy camp almost absent, government announcements showed on Friday.

The Sept 19 vote for the committee is the first election since China overhauled Hong Kong's electoral system in May to ensure the former British colony is run by "patriots" loyal to Beijing.

After the one-week nomination period ended on Thursday, the government said it had received just 1,056 nominations for the 980 seats...