Donald Tsang Yam-kuen's reported assertion that it would be immoral for Election Committee members to nominate one candidate and vote for another - a strategy dubbed 'one vote for two' - is deeply troubling.
The idea behind the tactic is to ensure that there is a contest in the election, scheduled for July 10. Currently, there is a strong likelihood that neither of Mr Tsang's challengers - Democratic Party chairman Lee Wing-tat and legislator Chim Pui-chung - will be able to get the necessary 100 nominations from the committee to become formal candidates. And if Mr Tsang is the only candidate, then there will not even be an election.
That is what happened in 2002, when the then chief executive Tung Chee-hwa obtained more than 700 nominations from the 800-member Election Committee, thereby removing even the theoretical possibility that a challenger could emerge. That was a mistake.
Mr Tung should not have been afraid of facing a challenger in 2002. Similarly, Mr Tsang should welcome, rather than try to circumvent, the emergence of a formal challenger in next month's election.
Instead of trying to shut out all challengers and turn the election into a one-horse race, Mr Tsang should encourage committee members to nominate at least one other candidate so that there can be a genuine contest. Surely, he cannot be afraid of facing Mr Lee?
Some Election Committee members came up with the idea of nominating a different candidate to ensure a genuine contest, even though they fully intend to vote for Mr Tsang on election day.
Instead of calling such a move immoral, he should have welcomed it. By criticising his own supporters for planning to nominate an opponent, Mr Tsang runs the risk of alienating some.