Hong Kong's pro-democratic parties swept the board in highly anticipated local elections seen as a barometer of public opinion after nearly six months of increasingly violent protests that have polarised the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.

Total turnout exceeded 2.94 million voters, a rate of 71 percent, surpassing a record from the previous legislative council election in 2016 of about 1.47 million.

As of 12pm (04:00 GMT), pro-democracy candidates had won a clear majority with 390 seats of the 452 district council seats, according to local broadcaster RTHK.

In the wake of the landslide win, Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam said she would "listen humbly" to voters.