How the ban on Hong Kong localist leader Edward Leung could tip the balance in Legco elections
Other young firebrands cleared to run in polls will be the biggest winners, analysts predict, while traditional pan-democrats, and even some veteran radicals, could lose out
It may be early days yet in a month-long campaign but with one high-profile candidate banned from contesting, attention is turning to the likely winners and losers of the fallout in the Legislative Council elections come September.
Political analysts said one immediate beneficiary would be the localists who were given the green light to run. They were divided, however, on how the rejection of Hong Kong Indigenous leader Edward Leung Tin-kei would affect veteran radicals and Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying’s likely bid for re-election in March.
Overall, they painted a gloomy picture for traditional pan-democrats and predicted that they were unlikely to gain much advantage by slamming the government for nothing more than political screening of candidates through the new requirement of a confirmation form.
The rejection of Leung and a clutch of other localists was also unlikely to have much impact on the pro-establishment camp with its relatively firm support base, they said.