CAMPAIGNING for today's by-election has been subdued. There are no street banners, no canvassers knocking on doors. The reason? Only 35 voters are eligible to cast their ballot for candidates vying to replace Gilbert Leung Kam-ho, now serving a three-yearjail term for corruption.
Leung was found guilty of offering a $50,000 bribe to fellow Regional Councillor Fung Pak-tai and giving $100,000 to another councillor Cheung Hon-chung in return for helping him get elected to Legco.
Not surprisingly, there is little talk of vote-buying in this election. While recommendations have been submitted to the Government to improve electoral arrangements, they will not be in place for today's election.
''In the past, people openly gossiped about vote-buying during the election period. But not this time. People don't dare touch this topic because it might lead to people being arrested,'' said one Regional Councillor, referring to the arrest of Leung only three months after being elected to Legco by his Regco colleagues.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and the Constitutional Affairs Branch are closely watching the by-election to ensure there is no repeat of the Leung incident.
The ICAC, which earlier admitted that ''tea money'' was commonplace in New Territories constituencies, has vowed to stamp out corruption in elections to ensure they are clean.