The new chairman of the Democratic Party yesterday pledged to improve links between the leadership and grassroots members as a way of rebuilding unity in the party.
Yeung Sum, who succeeds Martin Lee Chu-ming, also called for better communication with the government and Beijing.
Speaking after the poll, where he received 121 votes from the 136 members who took part, Dr Yeung promised to revive the party after a number of defections of radical members.
'In the past there have been lots of internal struggles. We need to build a higher sense of consensus among us, and promoting this sense of unity is my foremost task,' he said.
Positioning the party as a 'pro-active opposition party' in the legislature, Dr Yeung called for dialogue with Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa and Beijing, who have both in the past been hostile towards the Democrats.
He said while the party would continue to focus on issues such as democracy and the rule of law, livelihood and district issues would also top its new agenda.
Albert Ho Chun-yan and Lee Wing-tat were elected as Dr Yeung's deputies.