A district councillor could lose his seat which he won by just two votes in an election in 2011 after a court on Friday ruled he had breached election rules during his campaign.
The Court of First Instance ruled that Edward Leung Wai-kuen’s victory in the Yau Tsim Mong district council election two years ago was invalid and now a by-election should be held.
Leung was found to have failed to file written consent from 52 supporters to election officials before publishing their names in a campaign advertisement.
The issue was earlier brought to court by Leung’s rival, defeated candidate Lam Kin-man, of the Association for Democracy and People’s Livelihood, in an election petition. Lam sought the court to overturn the 2011 poll results and said Leung broke campaign rules.
Leung, a social worker with no political affiliations, won the seat in the King’s Park constituency with 1,045 votes, beating Lam by two votes.
In his verdict on Friday, Judge Lam Man-hon was satisfied Leung’s act made the election unfair to other candidates. He said the names in his advertisement included well-known people that could have influenced voters.
Outside court, Lam Kin-man welcomed Friday’s ruling and said he would actively consider standing in the by-election if it was held.