After the passage of the political reform bill, attention has naturally turned to the five newly created functional constituency seats for the district councils. Many proposals on the division of the electoral districts, the qualifications governing the candidates and their nominees have been put forward.
However, the election of the Election Committee members who will choose the chief executive is a much more significant issue.
With the chief executive due to be elected by universal suffrage for the first time in 2017, the crucial issue will be the nomination threshold. If the election method to be adopted for the five new functional constituency seats for district councils in 2012 is applied to the chief executive election exercise in 2017, there will clearly be serious inadequacies. It is unlikely that ordinary voters will have a role in the nomination process, not to mention become candidates themselves.
The pro-democracy movement fears that the nomination will be controlled by the political establishment which possesses a predominant majority in the committee. If this is the case, there will be no genuine choice for the people; competition will be limited to two or three candidates endorsed by Beijing and supported by the establishment. The meaning of electing the chief executive by universal suffrage in this manner will be very limited.
Since Hong Kong people expect to see genuinely democratic elections for the chief executive by 2017, they should pay attention to the method of electing the committee in 2012, and demand the maximum amount of democratisation within the framework of local legislation, to avoid leaving all the reforms until the 2017 election. This would certainly enhance the community's confidence in the possibility of a truly democratic election in 2017.
Hence, if the administration is willing to consult the public about such a move, it can only improve community relations. Doing nothing, on the other hand, will only exacerbate the administration's lame-duck image.