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Hong Kong elections: securing nominations for Legislative Council poll no easy task, aspiring candidates find
- At least seven figures from outside pro-establishment camp still scrambling for endorsements for December 19 race
- Another 11 election hopefuls sign up on Tuesday, bringing total to 37 since nomination period opened four days ago
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Some aspiring candidates whose political ideals do not square entirely with Hong Kong’s pro-establishment camp are having a hard time securing nominations for the coming Legislative Council election, despite the success of four hopefuls so far.
As the two-week nomination period entered its fourth day on Tuesday, the Post learned that at least seven figures from outside the camp continued to scramble for endorsements for the December race, the first for Legco since Beijing revamped the city’s electoral system to ensure only “patriots” could hold power.
The four who have secured sufficient nominations are Mandy Tam Heung-man, a former Civic Party and People Power member, Fong Lung-fei, who identified himself as a pro-democracy independent, Tik Chi-yuen, who leads the centrist Third Side party, and Gary Wong Chi-him, an ex-member of Path of Democracy, a moderate think tank.
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Under the revamp, Legco hopefuls must acquire at least 10 nominations from a powerful Election Committee dominated by Beijing loyalists, with critics accusing the authorities of stifling dissent.
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Those outside the camp were still trying to make sense of the lukewarm response from committee members even though the official pledge had been that the election would not be homogenous, sources said.
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