Tsang's team may not vote in by-election if consensus reached

Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen may announce that his team of political appointees is not voting in the May 16 Legco by-elections, if a consensus is reached among his ministers and aides over their intentions.

But pan-democrats and some government allies warned that on top of setting a bad precedent for the government's traditional stance of encouraging turnout in elections, such moves could be a threat to people's right to vote.

A pan-democrat politician yesterday said a political appointee had revealed that Tsang is to announce soon that his team of ministers, undersecretaries and political assistants would stay away from polling stations.

But a person with knowledge of the situation said any suggestion that Tsang had ordered his officials not to vote was groundless, adding that whether to vote or not, and who to vote for, would be left to political appointees.

'There exists no question about the chief executive affecting people's voting intentions under duress,' the person said.

But the person would not rule out the possibility of an announcement being made if a consensus to not vote was reached among the appointees.

Tsang last year announced a 'voluntary' pay cut for political appointees after they reached an agreement on the issue, despite some privately complaining that they had no choice but to follow the lead of their boss.