BEIJING — A small group of elites elected Hong Kong’s leader, Donald Tsang, to a second term yesterday as the incumbent promised to fight for universal suffrage for the former British colony.

Mr. Tsang won with 84% of the 772 valid votes cast by a select committee of professionals under a complex electoral system designed to ensure Beijing controls the process. His victory was widely expected.

“I laid out a solid foundation for moving toward universal suffrage in a modest way,” the career civil servant said in his victory speech, wearing his signature bowtie. “We’ve made history.”

When pressed for a date, however, Mr. Tsang declined to provide specifics.

Mr. Tsang’s opponent, lawmaker Alan Leong, told a local radio station that the process was “rigged” because the public wasn’t allowed to participate. “Hong Kong people are ready for democracy yesterday,” he said.

Despite the lack of suspense over who would win, the election broke some new ground. It was the first contested race since Hong Kong’s 1997 handover to China. In the past, pro-democracy groups lacked sufficient signatures to field a candidate or boycotted the polling.

It also featured the first televised debates, giving people a taste of something approaching a policy contest. And Mr. Tsang’s vow to craft a road map for full democracy was the first such pledge by an incumbent under Chinese rule.

Ultimately, however, Beijing is wary of giving Hong Kong voters too much power. Weeks before the election, Chinese officials pointedly warned Hong Kong that the National People’s Congress, which largely rubber-stamps decisions of the Communist Party, has the final word on reforms.

Among China’s concerns is that Hong Kong might elect an anti-Beijing government or that free elections could spur calls for democracy on the mainland.

China’s Foreign Ministry, central liaison office in Hong Kong, and the People’s Liberation Army garrison congratulated Mr. Tsang and pledged their support, China’s state-run New China News Agency said.

Some predict that Hong Kong won’t see universal suffrage before 2017. Hong Kong’s leaders, or chief executives, serve for five-year terms. Britain also didn’t allow universal suffrage during its century-long rule.

China doesn’t like to hear Hong Kong residents demand “sovereign rights” given their status as citizens of China, an international-relations professor at Beijing University, Yin Hongbiao, said, nor is it sure how to build a democracy, should it decide to move ahead.

“The mainland’s rule is still based on the Russian idea that ‘power comes from the barrel of a gun,'” Mr. Yin said. “It needs time and favors a gradual transition process.”

Analysts say Mr. Tsang might have won the election even if the Chinese autonomous region were fully democratic. That’s in sharp contrast to his predecessor, Tung Chee-hwa, who resigned in 2005, ostensibly over health reasons, after a series of bad policy decisions and public-relations gaffes.

“Tsang’s very high opinion-poll ratings of around 70 percent show he has the community’s endorsement,” said Anthony Cheung, a professor and chairman of Hong Kong’s SynergyNet, a pro-democracy think tank. “Now attention shifts to what he will do over the next five years.”

Analysts say one of Mr. Tsang’s priorities likely will be constitutional reform. Mr. Tsang is expected to issue a policy paper on universal suffrage in which he may put forth three options en route to forging a consensus he can then present to Beijing.

Some also hope he turns his attention to practical problems put on hold by Mr. Tung’s resignation and Mr. Tsang’s initial two-year term. These include moves to make Hong Kong’s economy more competitive, strengthen its medical and social-security programs, and plan for an aging population.

Pro-democracy groups said they also have work to do. Mr. Leung’s popularity ratings of around 20% suggest the movement could do a better job appealing to centrists who hold sway between the pro-Beijing and pro-democracy camps.

“We also have to establish ourselves as a viable alternative government through our policy platforms and debates,” said Joseph Cheng, a professor of the City University of Hong Kong and high-profile member of the pro-democracy movement. “Rather than just being critics, we want to show our constructive side.”