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Klaudia Lee

Linda Choy

Social workers fear change in strategy will lead to voter concerns if they join team that supports Civic Party lawmaker

A coalition of social worker unionists has rejected a proposal to form a joint ticket with a 20-member team that has voiced support for Alan Leong Kah-kit in the social welfare sub-sector Election Committee poll.

The decision by the unionists had dealt a blow to  Mr Leong's chances of getting the 100 nominations he needed to stand in the chief executive election in March,  Democritic Party member Tik Chi-yuen  said  yesterday.

Candidates of the 25-member team led by the president of the Social Workers' General Union, Peter Cheung Kwok-che, held a meeting on Monday night to discuss suggestions it team up with the 20-member 'Demosocial-12' group to maximise their chances of success. The unionists rejected the idea.

Mr Cheung said the team decided to reject the proposal because such  a sudden change of strategy might lead to concerns about  why the unionists had made a last-minute U-turn.

'Some voters may also ask  why the unions and the frontline candidates  support shaking hands with those people who belong to the management level,' he said,

He admitted the vote may be split because both tickets appeal to similar voters, but  said it was hard to know whether or not it would be better for the two teams to join hands.

The unionist team supports a contested chief executive election, although it has not decided who to nominate.

Mr Tik, who is on the Demosocial-12 list, said: 'If we can co-operate with them, at least we can make the voters feel that the pan-democratic camp is united, so that we may be able to get more votes.'

He was  concerned that  votes might be wasted since both teams'  sources of votes  were similar.

A record 99 candidates are running in the 40-seat sub-sector,  whose support is seen as vital if Mr Leong is to secure enough nominations.

With just a few days to go until Sunday's election, Mr Leong  said he was not entirely optimistic, citing a low turnout in the last election  and  low awareness among eligible voters.

He appealed to   voters to confront candidates in their respective sectors with questions about who they would nominate in  the chief executive poll.

The Civic Party lawmaker said it was crucial to secure enough nominations  because 'this would be the first step to kick off a competition between two approaches in the governing of Hong Kong, as well as two visions for the future of the city'.

'This debate of two approaches will only  materialise in March if more voters lend their support to Alan Leong,' he said.

The pan-democrats are planning  activities on Saturday in a last-ditch effort to garner support for their candidate.

Mr Leong will announce his anti-poverty platform in Tin Shui Wai, followed by home visits in the area, which is plagued by poverty and youth and  domestic violence.

He will later join  the Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood in a rally to drum up support for his anti-poverty cause.



Unionists reject pitch for Alan Leong