Lawmaker Albert Ho must win over over Democratic Party to resignation plan
Doubts have arisen among Democrats over idea to sacrifice 'super seat' to force de facto referendum
Veteran pan-democrat Albert Ho Chun-yan faces the task of resolving doubts within his own political party in the coming weeks so he can go ahead with a plan to forego his legislative "super seat" and trigger a citywide vote on democracy.
Three core members of the Democratic Party have voiced misgivings about Ho's intention to resign as a lawmaker to force a de facto referendum on Beijing's strict framework for the city's electoral reform.
However, another two Democrats wielding much influence among their party colleagues are receptive of the idea.
The party's 30-strong central committee meets tomorrow, where Ho is to seek support before putting his proposal to a vote by all Democrats in a few weeks.
Richard Tsoi Yiu-cheong, former party vice-chairman who still sits on the committee, wondered what purpose the "referendum" could serve.
"I doubt if it can successfully force Beijing to restart the … process for political reform," Tsoi said.
Last week, Ho announced his resignation plan to bring about a by-election, which can be construed as a referendum because he is one of only five "super seat" lawmakers, who have a bigger mandate than their 65 Legco colleagues as 3.2 million registered voters were eligible to vote for those seats.