New | Democrats urged to reconsider leaving alliance after Occupy Central poll
Lawmakers had looked set to leave pan-democratic group, but with the alliance's 2017 plan winning the public's backing, key figures have called for unity
The Democratic Party has been urged to stay within with an alliance of pan-democrats, as opposition lawmakers and pro-democracy activists move to rally behind the political reform proposal that won Occupy Central’s unofficial referendum.
Joseph Cheng Yu-shek, the convenor of the Alliance for True Democracy – an alliance of all but one of the 27 pan-democrat lawmakers – was speaking on a radio programme on Monday morning after nearly 800,000 people voted in Occupy’s public poll on options for the 2017 chief executive election.
The alliance’s election plan – which would allow the public, political parties and a nominating committee to put forward candidates for the top job – secured 331,427 votes, or 42.1 per cent of the 787,767 valid ballots cast during the 10-day exercise.
The central and local governments have repeatedly ruled out public nomination.
Before the vote, Democrats had threatened to leave the alliance after other members – notably from the People Power group – did not support the alliance’s plan in an initial vote held by Occupy supporters to create the shortlist of three proposals.
People Power lobbied for support of its own reform proposal.