Camp chases voters turned off by 'smear campaign'
The pro-democracy camp will hold a rally in Central on Sunday to drum up support amid concern that voters' interest has been weakened by what it describes as a smear campaign.
A poll of 961 registered voters by the Democratic Development Network on Wednesday found 59 per cent had been turned off by a spate of negative reports about candidates. Those aged 45 to 54 were most affected, with 88 per cent saying they were now less inclined to vote. The survey found nearly 40 per cent of voters were undecided over who to vote for, while 31.3 per cent had not decided if they would vote.
Joseph Cheng Yu-shek, head of the Power for Democracy group which is organising the Chater Garden rally, said all pro-democracy candidates would attend.
Flanked yesterday by representatives of the main pro-democracy parties, Professor Cheng called on voters to make a distinction at the ballot box between 'what is an acceptable political stance and what are individual mistakes that can be forgiven'.
'We hope voters think about the meaning behind the Legco election. It is an important election, as it is related to the governance of the [city] and Hong Kong's democratic development,' he said.