Changes to Hong Kong’s electoral system remain a hard sell
- Officials say the reforms are necessary to improve governance, but the revamp also makes the goal of universal suffrage even more distant
Never before has the composition of the Legislative Council been altered so extensively or hastily. It is not only that pro-Beijing candidates will have an unarguably distinct advantage in becoming lawmakers, but that sectoral interests and the polling arrangements will make universal suffrage – as envisioned in the Basic Law – an even more distant goal.
Officials say the changes are necessary to ensure the city is administered only by “patriots”, a move said to be conducive to good governance. But to many who subscribe to fair and open elections, the revamp is a hard sell.
That the government has set aside just a few weeks to undo what has taken decades to evolve is regrettable. This is not helped when there is a lack of public consultation. The English version of the relevant paper and the draft bill run to 765 pages. The details are hard for a layperson to understand, perhaps also for lawmakers who are required to complete their scrutiny by mid-May.
The merging and downsizing of some constituencies has yet to be clearly explained. For instance, the information technology seat is to become technology and innovation, with more than 10,000 voters disenfranchised and replaced by corporate votes held by industry groups.
The five citywide “super-seats” and the two seats for district councillors are to be abolished and a new commerce seat for Chinese-funded enterprises will be created.
The two separate seats for doctors and medical staff will be merged into one that also takes in Chinese medicine practitioners.
All news bodies will be removed from the sector comprising publication, sports and culture.
Questions were also raised over the larger Election Committee, which will now have 1,500 members from the 1,200 previously and whose powers will be expanded from choosing the city’s leader to controlling lawmakers’ nominations and electing 40 of the 90 Legco seats.
New Hong Kong elections rule allows postponement of contests in specific Legislative Council constituencies
Despite the removal of directly elected district councillors and a substantial number of individual voters from the committee, the authorities argue that elections will be more representative and democratic. But with nearly 80 per cent of the Legco seats returned by sector-based constituencies, accountability will be an issue.
With members returned from geographical constituencies slashed by more than 40 per cent to just 20 seats, most of the seats in the future legislature will be dominated by sectors whose electoral base and interests will be narrower.
The changes will not bring Legco closer to the goal of universal suffrage any time soon. How the new arrangements can enhance governance and preserve meaningful checks and balances while paving the way for greater democracy remains a major challenge.
