Hong Kong chief executive election 2022: John Lee submits 786 nominations to stand for city’s top job, representing more than half of Election Committee members

Among the nominators were some of the most powerful businessmen in the city, including CK Asset Holdings chairman Victor Li Tzar-kuoi, who is the eldest son of Li Ka-shing, and Henderson Land co-chairman Martin Lee Ka-shing. The former chief secretary also secured the backing of ex-chief executive Leung Chun-ying and his allies, as well as those of incumbent leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, who is not a committee member.

All but three of the city’s 90 lawmakers supported Lee, with the holdouts being Legislative Council president Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen, Roundtable lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun and social welfare representative Tik Chi-yuen, the only member of the chamber not aligned with the pro-establishment bloc.

Addressing reporters after handing in his application at the electoral affairs office at City Gallery in Central, Lee declined to say whether the large number of nominations made him a lock for the job and emphasised he was focused on building support for his proposed “result-oriented” style of governing.

“How many nominations I can get, of course, is a pleasant thing to know, but what is important is that I should create the maximum consensus so that my governance will be shared and supported by the majority of the people,” he said.

Lee, 64, added that his campaign schedule had been hectic at times, noting that on a single day he made 10 different stops to explain his approach to committee members.