Planned Hong Kong elections rule for delaying specific Legislative Council contests dropped in government U-turn
- City officials abandon proposed mechanism for rescheduling some Legco contests if a candidate dies or is disqualified during the race
- Lawmakers have been scrutinising a government bill enabling Beijing’s overhaul of the local electoral system
A plan to allow the postponement of a geographical constituency’s elections to the Hong Kong legislature in the event of a candidate’s death or disqualification during the race has been shelved amid strong opposition from pro-establishment lawmakers.
Officials previously argued the rescheduling of a particular constituency’s polls for directly elected seats because of a candidate’s death or disqualification was necessary to avoid someone winning a seat without challenge.
That emerged as an issue because the number of aspirants in each constituency was expected to shrink under a new “one vote, two seats” mechanism.
But the proposed rule change prompted 38 pro-establishment lawmakers – some of whom feared it could be weaponised by those wanting to disrupt elections, or believed abandoning contests would be unfair to other candidates – to sign a joint letter opposing the plan.
“In light of the lawmakers’ concerns, we have proposed to amend the relevant clause to stipulate that the elections of a geographical or functional constituency will not be halted even if a candidate dies or faces disqualification after the nomination period,” the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau wrote in a paper submitted to the legislature.
