When DAB legislator Ma Lik died in August, few anticipated his empty seat in the Hong Kong Island geographical constituency would set the stage for the most dramatic, perhaps divisive, election in the city's history.
With the blessing of the Beijing-friendly, pro-government camp led by the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong and the Liberal Party, former security minister Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee has brought forward her plan to stand in the 2008 Legislative Council election by taking an early step into electoral politics.
Even if she loses the December 2 by-election, she has made clear she will run again next year. Securing an elected mandate through Legco polls, analysts say, would be a big step towards her aim to become chief executive in 2012.
In sharp contrast to the calculated move by Mrs Ip to regain her lost public standing following the Article 23 fiasco, the entry of Anson Chan Fang On-sang into the race has been spurred by a personal wish to prolong her political influence and a change of circumstances in the broader political scene.
When commenting on the government snub of not including her constitutional development proposal in the Green Paper consultation, Mrs Chan said in an interview with the South China Morning Post: 'If I have a voice in Legco and a popular mandate, I hope the government will take a little more notice of my views.'
The stakes in the by-election are much higher for the pan-democrats. With internal opinion polls early last month showing Mrs Ip looking poised to knock down hopefuls such as Cyd Ho Sau-lan and Kam Nai-wai, the panic-stricken democrats looked to Mrs Chan as their best choice in a battle they could not afford to lose.
