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Ambrose Leung

Election expenses for next year's Chief Executive hopefuls have been capped at $9.5 million.

The Constitutional Affairs Bureau said in a paper to legislators the proposed costs would cover a campaign office, campaign aides and advertising and publicity expenses for the candidates.

Democratic Party chairman Martin Lee Chu-ming said the ceiling was far too high for a campaign which involved only 800 eligible voters on the Election Committee.

The Liberal Party said it was too low, while the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong said the figure was appropriate.

At the last Legco election, campaign expenditure was limited to between $1.5 million and $2.5 million for each ticket, depending on the number of seats in the constituency.

In his two-month election campaign in 1996, Tung Chee-hwa spent $2.7 million. Out of that sum $900,000 was spent on staff, $63,000 on rent and $470,000 on research and consulting services.

'I don't understand how it [the new ceiling] could be justified,' Mr Lee said. He added that a rich man like Mr Tung would have a huge advantage over candidates with fewer means.

Mr Lee said the high spending limit could mislead the public into believing that they had the right to vote for the next chief executive, when in fact it was restricted to the Election Committee's 800 members. Party colleague Yeung Sum said the party would oppose the proposal.

DAB chairman Tsang Yok-sing said he expected the campaign would not be confined to the 800 Election Committee members. 'There is no harm to set the upper limit at a high amount because every sum has to be accounted for to the public,' he added.

James Tien Pei-chun, Liberal Party chairman, opposed the government proposal, but on opposite ground to the Democrats. 'No ceiling should be set for election expenses. But the transparency of the expenses so incurred must be high so that all spending can be accounted for.'

Political scientist Professor Lau Siu-kai, of the Chinese University, said the spending cap was 'acceptable' because the SAR chief was supposed to represent the entire population.



$9.5m spending limit set for chief executive poll campaigns