Governor Chris Patten yesterday attacked Tung Chee-hwa's decision not to allow consultation on the electoral methods for next year's Legco election.
He said the community felt strongly about the issue and its opinion should be sought.
'That is extremely sad. I can't understand why there should be no time,' he said, referring to Mr Tung's claim that time was too short to allow consultation.
'I do hope that the community will be allowed to have a voice on these matters,' he said on his return from a trip to London.
Mr Patten said the electoral proposals endorsed by the Preparatory Committee were no more than an attempt to restrict the number of seats pro-democracy parties could win.
Proportionality was built into the political system with the Election Committee and functional constituencies, he said. There was no need to adopt the committee's recommendations of proportional representation or a multi-seat, single vote.
Hours earlier, the Hong Kong Progressive Alliance formally merged with the Liberal Democratic Federation, but declined to reveal its views on the 1998 electoral arrangements.