A day is a long time in politics now. Just as we were coming to terms with Covid-19 upending Hong Kong’s Legislative Council election, a dozen candidates were disqualified by returning officers appointed by the Electoral Affairs Commission. The abrupt end to their bids for seats had not been entirely unexpected. But now, the election is being postponed, possibly by up to a year, which is an eternity in politics. In today’s charged political climate, it is tempting, of course, to look at everything through the lens of which side will gain the most from any delay. But the truth is that any change in date would bring both disadvantages and advantages to all sides. Some have said having more time would help the pro-establishment camp. But the question then is: why would more time hurt the opposition? Does the opposition, or what it stands for, have a limited shelf life? Would its pledge to vote down the budget expire next year? If that can’t be achieved next year, it could be attempted the year after. There’s a budget every year. Some have said the delay would dampen spirits in the city and would therefore help the pro-establishment camp. However, other than the fact that this highly politicised environment galvanises s upporters on both sides, those who make these easy predictions are conveniently overlooking the possibility that the delayed Legco election could have knock-on effects on the Election Committee subsector elections in 2021 and the chief executive election in 2022. The closer the Legco election is moved to these dates, the more political things are going to get, especially if the current chief executive, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, plans to seek re-election. But now for a dose of clarity. For an election to be fair and open, candidates must have the opportunity to engage with voters. And right now, the city is being hit by a third wave of Covid-19 infections and we are struggling to flatten the curve, and trying to stay at home or socially distanced, if not actually isolated. Why both sides get Benny Tai’s case wrong We simply cannot afford for candidates to be out there engaging with voters, having conversations and healthy debates over political issues, public policies and competing world views. This applies to candidates of all stripes and colours. Given the inherent advantages of incumbency, it would not be fair to deprive newcomers of campaigning opportunities – the candidates who do not enjoy name recognition, whichever side they may be on. As for polling day arrangements, should we really be insisting on holding the election in September, as originally planned? Is an election worth risking our health and lives for? No. The rule of thumb should be: if it isn’t safe enough for our schools to open, then it’s not safe enough for us to vote. Sure, other places – including Singapore – have held elections amid the pandemic, but then no two places are alike. Singapore introduced measures such as additional polling stations and allocated voting times, but would these work in Hong Kong? In the United States, President Donald Trump has suggested that the November election be postponed , even though mail-in ballots are allowed there. In Hong Kong, we have neither that nor other absentee voting options. Instead, we have a group of people who have been disqualified from an election that needs to be rescheduled, and actually, perhaps it’s time for all of us to take a break from politics. Let’s just do ourselves this favour, shall we, instead of going through the seven stages of grief over yet another disruption caused by the pandemic? Hardly anything in 2020 has gone according to plan. This is a year that has thrown us in at the deep end, and we’re having to learn to be alert and stay afloat. What’s waiting 12 more months to go to the polls, if it does come to that? Alice Wu is a political consultant and a former associate director of the Asia Pacific Media Network at UCLA