ExplainerHong Kong third wave: will Legislative Council elections be postponed as Covid-19 cases spike? And who makes the call?

Hongkongers are set to go to the polls on September 6, but some have called for a postponement, with no end in sight to the coronavirus pandemic

Elections can be put on hold if they are likely to be obstructed, disrupted or seriously affected under three types of occurrences

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If the elections are postponed, they must be held no later than 14 days after the original polling day on September 6. Photo: May Tse

Published: 12:30pm, 21 Jul 2020Updated: 11:13pm, 21 Jul 2020

With just 48 days to Hong Kong’s Legislative Council elections, set for September 6, a burning question, as the city churns in the thick of a third wave of Covid-19 infections, is whether the polls will be postponed.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said on Sunday she had no intention “at this moment” to change plans. But she admitted “nobody can tell me how the coronavirus pandemic will develop”.

Tam Yiu-chung, Hong Kong’s sole representative to the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, the country’s top legislative body, said on Monday the government should not rule out the possibility of postponing the elections amid the worsening health crisis.

Since April, pro-establishment lawmakers have also been urging the government to consider such action, with no end in sight to the pandemic.

Carrie Lam says she has no intention of changing plans at the moment. Photo: Edmond So

Are there any legal grounds for postponement? Who makes the final decision?

Article 69 of the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution, states that a term of office for Legco “shall be four years”. The tenure of the seventh Legco begins on October 1.