Hong Kong Bar Association laments ‘political screening’ of election candidates
The body, which represents Hong Kong’s barristers, also raised concerns about the recent disqualification of student activist Agnes Chow Ting by a returning officer from running in the coming by-election
Hong Kong’s newly elected Bar Association on Wednesday lamented the “political screening” of election candidates after the High Court ruled that civil servants seconded to the electoral authority have the power to ban those they determine will not uphold the Basic Law.
It also raised concerns about the recent disqualification of student activist Agnes Chow Ting by a returning officer from the Electoral Affairs Commission from running in the coming by-election on March 11, pointing to the same judgment stipulating that aspirants must be given a chance to defend themselves before such a determination is made.
The Bar Association, which recently elected a group of more liberal-minded leaders to represent the city’s barristers, said it was concerned about the disbarment of an election candidate on the basis of political party association or political beliefs by a civil servant under “closed-door inquiry”.
But to reach such a conclusion, returning officers must give aspirants a “reasonable opportunity” to respond to their concerns, the judge said, in a ruling expected to hold legal ramifications for the recent banning of election candidates.