By-election for Albert Ho's Legco seat may be a year away, Hong Kong government source says
'De facto vote' on reform faces logistical delays, says government source, with Albert Ho yet to resign his Legco seat and no timescale set in law
Logistical problems could delay a citywide by-election intended to serve as a "de facto referendum" on political reform until as late as March next year, a government source has said.
Veteran democrat Albert Ho Chun-yan plans to spark the vote by quitting his "super seat" in the Legislative Council later this year. But while past Legco by-elections have taken place within four months of the seat falling vacant, the law does not specify the timescale for a vote and the source said logistical problems could delay the poll.
Ho dropped a political bombshell last month when he announced plans to stand down to spark a vote as part of the campaign to overturn Beijing's strict framework on nominations for the 2017 chief executive election.
The former Democratic Party chairman was elected in 2012 to one of five seats in the new district council (second) functional constituency, for which voting is open to the 3.2 million voters who are not eligible to vote in any other functional constituency.
The logistical problems stem from the fact Ho has yet to announce when he will resign. It could come as soon as May or be delayed until after Legco votes on the government's proposal for 2017 - which pan-democrats have vowed to vote down. That could be as late as July.
The source said the uncertainty had caused problems in planning for the by-election, including the recruitment of returning officers and finding polling stations and count venues.
He said the vote was unlikely to take place before November's district council elections, and holding the by-election on that date would cause problems as "we would either need to double the manpower or double the vote-counting time. Neither option is really feasible".