Baby first in Democrat's poll push
Democrat lawmaker James To Kun-sun said yesterday he would run in the upcoming district council elections. To had been undecided about whether to join the race, but has made up his mind to fight for a seat on Yau Tsim Mong District Council.
He made the announcement at the Democratic Party's swearing-in ceremony yesterday for candidates. He is one of 126 from the party who will contest seats.
To focus on his campaign, he said his wife would have an early birth by Caesarean section.
He said his wife's expected delivery date fell on election day.
'The expected delivery date of my wife is on November 6. Now we have decided to let my wife give birth by Caesarean section a week earlier,' he said.
His wife, Sue So Lai-fun, said the decision to bring their son into the world earlier was made two weeks ago, when To decided to participate in the elections. She felt comfortable with the decision.
'It's better for me, the baby and my husband to give birth by Caesarean, so we don't have to worry about when exactly the baby will come out,' she said. 'Perhaps the baby wants to witness the election, too. It was such a coincidence to have the expected delivery date the same as the election day.'
Party chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan said the elections would be challenging, as the party would face attacks from both the Beijing loyalist camp and the more radical pan-democrats.
Dr Yeung Sum, the party's election committee chairman, said 46 of the candidates were sitting councillors, and he hoped the party would not suffer a net loss of seats in the coming elections.
The League of Social Democrats also announced its 22 candidates for the elections yesterday, among them four sitting councillors. Andrew To Kwan-hang, the party's chairman, said its aim was to attack the Beijing loyalist camp.
A second batch of League candidates who will target individual Beijing loyalists and some pan-democrats will be announced in the coming weeks.
The party's only lawmaker, 'Long Hair' Leung Kwok-hung, will contest the elections, but he has not decided in which district to run.
Yesterday, Lily Chung Lai-tuen, an election programme co-ordinator from the Independent Commission Against Corruption, said the watchdog had received 18 complaints alleging electoral bribery this year.
