THE Democratic Party will finalise in the next fortnight its list of candidates running for direct election. The party's central committee meets on January 22 to vote for the candidates for each geographical constituency in May's Legislative Council election. Nineteen candidates have been selected but the order has not been fixed. Of the three to four candidates fighting each constituency only two to three are expected to go through under the proportional representation system. There are 30 central committee members, of whom nine are selected candidates. Executive Committee member Fred Li Wah-ming said the nine candidates would not cast their vote on the order of their own constituency. 'This is to avoid conflict of interest,' he said. The party would allocate about $250,000 for each candidate's campaign spending, half the ceiling for each seat. It is understood Albert Chan Wai-yip will be able to retain his No 1 position on the list for the New Territories West geographical constituency because he has chairman Martin Lee Chu-ming's support.
