Opinion | Hong Kong by-elections have become a case study in the pitfalls of too much democracy

Alice Wu says the infighting in both the pan-democrat and pro-establishment camps results in a parade of the same old faces and issues come election day

Repeated by-elections are leading to voter fatigue that will ultimately set back the city’s political development

Reading Time:3 minutes

Labour Party veteran Lee Cheuk-yan (right) hands a banner reading “hypocrisy” to pro-establishment candidate Chan Hoi-yan as Frederick Fung Kin-kee, a pan-democrat running as an independent, looks on at a forum at Commercial Radio, in Kowloon Tong, on October 23. Photo: Edmond So

Published: 1:00pm, 28 Oct 2018Updated: 3:41pm, 29 Oct 2018

Given all the pain Hong Kong has gone through in the name of fighting for our constitutionally promised right to vote for all members of the Legislative Council and the chief executive, it would be safe to say that the accepted presumption is that elections are good.

But at times like this, we need to ask whether elections are indeed, categorically, good. Are there instances where we are better off without them?

What do I mean by “at times like this”? Well, just take a look at what elections have been doing around the world. Elections have made the very powerful pander to the hateful and ignorant just because they are their base. Elections have made it “necessary” for those who wish to stay in power to be provocative, picking fights at home and abroad to galvanise an increasingly polarised and radicalised electorate.

Elections have been calls to violence for many. In just this month, elections have driven people to mail pipe bombs in the US, commit hate crimes and murder in Brazil, and carry out suicide missions to eliminate candidates in Afghanistan. The price of elections seems far greater than the benefits in these cases.

In Hong Kong, we’re lucky that we have only had to witness the occasional minor scuffle and tune out bad-quality election debates. But as we’re having, yet again, a Legco by-election for the Kowloon West constituency, we must wonder whether – even if we accept the presumption that elections are a good thing – having elections can be too much of a good thing?

Watch: March 2018 by-election winners sworn in to Legislative Council

Elections and election campaigns do play an important role in sustaining democracy, even if ours is rather limited. Every election is a chance for society to have important dialogues – on the issues of the day or on local concerns that need attention – in which the candidates, the people and the media all take part.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x