Incoming leader Leung Chun-ying suffered a huge setback yesterday when a proposal to fast-track his government revamp plan was narrowly vetoed by legislators leaving the new structure unlikely to be passed by July 1 when he takes over.
To the surprise of the government and lawmakers of different factions, the government's motion failed by one vote to reach the required number that would have allowed the revamp to be tabled before other outstanding bills.
To pass, the motion needed support from more than half the lawmakers present. But with 54 in the chamber, only 27 government-friendly lawmakers voted in favour while all 23 pan-democrats and two pro-establishment legislators opposed it.
New People's Party chairwoman Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee abstained, while Legco president Tsang Yok-sing, as usual to show impartiality, did not vote.
Critics said the government and its supporters had been overconfident and had failed to count the votes carefully, letting the motion go to a vote with six backers absent while others abstained or opposed it.
Leung blamed filibustering lawmakers for making the motion necessary and said they could cause further delays. 'If filibustering continues in the Legislative Council, the chance of having the restructuring plan approved before July 1 and for three top principal officials, two deputy secretaries and 14 bureaus being able to serve the public from July 1 will be very slim,' the chief executive-elect said hours after the defeat.