Hong Kong pro-democracy camp split over holding internal ballots to maximise its chances in Legislative Council elections

Pan-democrats riding high, but failure to whittle down candidates for Legislative Council elections in September could cost them gains

Younger candidates in the ascendant on back of the anti-government protests are largely resistant to taking part in primary elections

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There is little consensus around the idea of using primaries to determine opposition candidates for September. Some fear splitting votes will see the pro-democracy camp lose out on seats. Photo: Reuters

Published: 1:40pm, 17 Mar 2020Updated: 2:01pm, 13 May 2020

Hong Kong’s pro-democracy camp has been locking horns over whether to hold internal ballots to decide which candidates to field for the Legislative Council elections in September, as commentators warned that splits could cost them seats.

Riding on the momentum of the anti-government protests that broke out last summer, the city’s opposition bloc crushed their pro-establishment rivals to take more than 80 per cent of the 452 seats in November’s district council elections.

The landslide victory has given the camp a confidence boost as it seeks to break its previous record of securing 29 of 70 seats in the city’s legislature.

But it has also sparked greater competition within the opposition bloc, with young independents planning to run after finding quick success in the district council polls.

Voters queue at a Hong Kong polling station during November’s district council elections. Photo: Reuters

Former lawmaker Au Nok-hin and legal scholar Benny Tai Yiu-ting, who led the 2014 Occupy movement, have been struggling to get all members of the camp on board with the idea of primary elections since last month.

Au said some independents felt it would be unfair to put them up against candidates with access to resources from political parties.