Legislators in Hong Kong voted down Wednesday an electoral reform package that would have paved the way for a direct vote in 2017. Twenty-eight of the 37 legislators present during the vote vetoed the package, while eight voted in favor.

Aside from one present legislator that abstained, the rest of the 70 seat Legislative Council was absent for the long-anticipated vote, after a short debate earlier in the day. The vote took place a day earlier than expected, though the result was in line with expectations from most analysts that the vote would fail to garner enough support to pass.

Outside the Council building, crowds of pro-Beijing supporters appeared dismayed when the result was announced. Anti-government protesters have welcomed the outcome as a victory, arguing the reform package fell short of their demands.

Under the proposed changes backed by Beijing, Hong Kong's citizens would have been be able to directly vote for their next chief executive in 2017. The chief executive is the head of Hong Kong's semi-autonomous government.

Since the city was handed over to China in 1997, the chief executive has been appointed by Beijing's 1,200 member Electoral Committee – something which could have changed if the reforms were passed.

However, candidates for Hong Kong's top job were still to be pre-selected by the Electoral Committee – a measure that sparked controversial in Hong Kong, but was deemed necessary by the government in Beijing.

Earlier this year, Beijing's National People's Congress deputy secretary-general Li Fei described the Electoral Committee as "broadly representative" of Hong Kong's society, and said the body is needed to "ensure stability.”

“As long as they give up their biases, the universal suffrage plan...[will be] the best choice for them,” Li stated, according to Xinhua. To pass into law, the reforms will need the support of two thirds of legislators, which is likely to prove difficult due to fierce divisions in the Legislative Council.

According to a survey by the University of Hong Kong ahead of Wednesday's vote, 51 percent of the city's citizens supported the proposed electoral reforms, while 37 percent were opposed.

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