HONG KONG—With the pro-democracy camp almost absent, pro-Beijing candidates are running uncontested for most seats in a Hong Kong election committee tasked with choosing the city’s leader, government announcements showed on Aug. 13. 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 Aug. 12, the government said it had received just 1,056 nominations for the 980 seats open to competition. A new committee, which can disqualify candidates, is tasked by law to work closely with Chinese security authorities to vet contenders for the election committee as well as the leadership election in 2022. The composition of the election committee is the latest blow to the opposition movement, which has seen scores of members arrested, jailed, or flee from Hong …