Hong Kong’s largest pro-Beijing party admits facing uphill fight at coming district council elections as anti-government protests rage
- Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong will send 179 candidates for November polls
- Authorities are looking into cancelling elections if protests erupt, but critics say this will deal bigger blow to pro-establishment camp
Hong Kong’s largest pro-Beijing political party has admitted that it is facing its toughest challenge in the coming district council elections amid backlash from the now-withdrawn extradition bill and the possibility of the polls being cancelled because of ongoing protests.
The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) said it would still send 179 candidates for the November elections, to face 99 from the Democratic Party.
The pro-establishment bloc is expected to suffer at the polls as the anti-government protests rage. The nomination period in the race to elect 452 district councillors began on Thursday and will end on October 17, with election day set on November 24.
At a press conference, DAB chairwoman Starry Lee Wai-king said 96 incumbent district councillors would seek re-election.
“We understand it is a very critical situation for us,” Lee said, claiming that 21 offices were damaged in the past three months amid the protests.
The Democratic Party – the largest group in the pro-democracy camp – said it would send 99 members, including 60 aged below 40.
