Hong Kong, Nov 25 (IANS): After pro-Beijing candidates faced an embarassing defeat in district council elections, Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam has said the government will "listen humbly to citizens".

In a statement released on Monday, Lam said that "quite a few are of the view that the results reflect people's dissatisfaction with the current situation", BBC reported.

She said the government respected the results.

According to local media counts, 17 of the 18 councils are now controlled by pro-democracy councillors.

The result is being seen as a major embarrassment to Lam's leadership.

Hong Kong's district councillors have little political power and deal with local issues including bus routes and garbage collection.

However, the district councillors get to choose 117 of their number to sit on the 1,200-member committee that selects Hong Kong's leader, the Chief Executive.

For nearly six months, Hong Kong has been witnessing demonstrations and unrest by pro-democracy activists. The results make it clear how the general population supported the protesters.