FORGET the Legislative Council elections, it is next March's municipal council polls that political parties are concentrating on - several of last month's losers are already plotting revenge against their district board conquerors. At least three of September's unsuccessful candidates are lining up for a rematch with their vanquishers next March, when 32 seats on the Urban Council and 27 on the Regional Council will be up for grabs. Although turnout tends to be low in municipal elections, they are crucial preparation for next year's Legislative Council polls. Indeed, some losers in the 1991 Legislative Council elections are also expected to use next March's contest to test whether they have enough support to challenge in September's Legislative Council poll. But electoral expert Dr Stephen Tang Lung-wai said not every loser could expect to exact his revenge. The Chinese University lecturer said only those who lost by five per cent or less during the last contest had any real chance of reversing the result. They also had to have a solid base of support in the area and, ideally, be a sitting Urban or Regional Councillor. Defeated Democratic Party candidate Wong Shui-lai, also an incumbent Urban Councillor, is one of the few to fit the criteria. Tainted by allegations that he used the fatal Kwun Lung Lau landslide to score political points last July, Mr Wong was narrowly defeated in the Kwun Lung constituency last month by Ip Kwok-him of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB). But the Urban Council polls are virtually certain to see a rematch between the two political heavyweights in the Western District of Hong Kong Island, with Mr Wong already proclaiming himself confident of avenging his defeat. 'Mr Ip may benefit in old districts like Kwun Lung, but the Urban Council constituency will be seven to eight times bigger than that of the District Board' he said. DAB secretary-general Cheng Kai-nam declined to comment on the looming fight, but said more than a dozen party members were interested in contesting the municipal council elections. Their main rival, the Democratic Party - formed by the merger of the United Democrats and Meeting Point earlier this month - has not yet finalised its list of candidates, but party district organisation chief Peggy Ha Ving-vung says the final line-up will be decided by next month. IN SOME seats, more than one loser will be seeking revenge. In Tseung Kwan O, voters are likely to find DAB's Cheung Hon-tin and Law Cheung-kwok of the Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood lining up for a second contest with sitting Democratic Party Regional Councillor Lam Wing-yin. The two were defeated by Mr Lam in last summer's Sai Kung by-election, but are confident it will be a different story next March. Both have already set up their own offices in the new town; Mr Law, in particular, has been buoyed by winning a seat on the Sai Kung District Board in last month's elections. In the eastern New Territories, Leung Chi-wai is hoping it will be third time lucky in Sha Tin. Mr Leung has the dubious distinction of being the first Liberal Party candidate ever to stand for direct election - and also the first to lose. He lost to United Democrat Wong Yiu-sang by 264 votes in the Wong Uk District Board by-election last December. Last month Mr Leung narrowed the gap to 11 votes, but lost again, and is eager to try once more. But the Democratic Party is considering putting up another candidate for the seat next March, Sha Tin District Board member Chow Wai-tung. However, a determined Mr Leung, 41, said if that happened, he would wait until the next district board election in 1997 to try to avenge his defeat. In Kowloon City, local heavyweight and veteran Liberal Democratic Foundation member Pao Ping-wing is also plotting revenge. Last month he lost by 222 votes, despite 10 years' experience in the area, but blames his defeat on a tactical mistake. 'The main reason for my defeat was that I left my base in Hunghom and stood in Kai Tak constituency instead,' he said. 'Next time I will stay in Hunghom.' Others are hoping to use next March's elections as the springboard for a political comeback. Former legislator Desmond Lee Yu-tai will contest the North Point seat on the Urban Council. Mr Lee has had a chequered political career. He was first elected to Eastern District Board on Hong Kong Island in 1985, and to the Legislative Council shortly afterwards. But his attempt to win another term on the council failed in 1988. A founding member of the United Democrats, Mr Lee withdrew his membership in 1991 after failing to secure the party's backing to contest the Legislative Council elections. Re-elected to the Island East District Board last month, he may stand for the urban and legislative councils on his own, and said he may even devote himself full-time to politics. In Tuen Mun, another loser has been plotting revenge. Democratic Party heavyweight Albert Ho Chun-yan was defeated in the Legislative Council by-election there in 1992. He has since moved to the new town, set up an office there and will contest its Regional Council seat next March.
