Delaying Legco by-elections until August is unacceptable

I heard Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Raymond Tam Chi-yuen on news reports on RTHK on Sunday, saying that the by-elections for the two vacant Legislative Council seats could not be held until August at the earliest.

As his reason for this delay, he cited the fact that officials were busy preparing for the chief executive election in March.

The NGO, Tsim Sha Tsui Residents Concern Group, does not think this is acceptable, as the more complicated, time-consuming aspect of that election, that is, voting for the people who will comprise the Election Committee, has been completed.

The chief executive election is a small-circle affair with about 1,200 eligible voters.  It will take place in a single venue and each participant has only one vote to cast. 

In a city like Hong Kong that hosts large trade fairs and numerous conferences every year, the organisation of such an event is small potatoes.

If the government finds the arrangements too onerous, it can always contract them out to one of the many events organisers that are more than capable of handling such a formulaic occasion.