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.

Several hours later, Keith Yeung Kar-hung, the returning officer of the sixth-term chief executive election, confirmed he had received Lee’s nomination form. A notice listing candidates approved by the committee that must vet them for national security risks will be published in the government’s gazette within seven days of the close of the nomination window on Saturday.

While other hopefuls had declared an intention to run before the nomination period officially opened last week, none have formally launched bids, and Lee is the only candidate to enjoy Beijing’s backing.

If he ends up being the only person to stand, committee members will still be required to cast their votes, and Lee will need the endorsement of more than half to become the next chief executive.

A closer look at the list of nominations revealed he had secured the support of many of the city’s big guns. He won the backing of Gordon Wu Ying-sheung of Hopewell Holdings, Robert Ng Chee Siong of Sino Land and the trio of Kwoks at the helm of Sun Hung Kai Properties: Raymond Kwok Ping-luen, Adam Kwok Kai-fai and Christopher Kwok Kai-wang.

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Sonia Cheng Chi-man, who sits on the board of New World Development, also nominated Lee, but her brother Adrian Cheng Chi-kong, who is in charge of the conglomerate, was missing from the list. He is not currently in Hong Kong, according to a source close to the company, and so could not nominate Lee in person, but he issued a statement last week expressing his support.

Lee, who started out as a probationary police inspector before rising through the ranks to become secretary of security, was also nominated by two former heads of the force, Tang King-shing and Andy Tsang Wai-hung, and two former security chiefs, Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee and Lai Tung-kwok.

Leading figures in academia also came forward with nominations, including Chinese University president Professor Rocky Tuan Sung-chi, Lingnan University head Professor Leonard Cheng Kwok-hon and Education University of Hong Kong chief Professor Stephen Cheung Yan-Leung.

Prominent supporters in the healthcare field included Hospital Authority chairman Henry Fan Hung-ling and University of Hong Kong medical school dean Professor Gabriel Leung.

Also among Lee’s supporters were close allies of former leader Leung, including Cheung Chi-kong and Kaizer Lau Ping-cheung, while Bernard Chan and Ronny Tong Ka-wah, both members of Lam’s de facto cabinet, gave their backing.

The 786 nominations represent 53 per cent of the 1,454-member committee. The city’s first leader, Tung Chee-wah, received 95 per cent when he sought a second term in 2002, while his eventual successor, Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, earned 84 per cent. During the 2012 chief executive race, Leung received 25 per cent, and five years later Lam secured 48 per cent.

Lawmakers Tik and Tien said they did not nominate Lee as he had yet to come up with a detailed manifesto.

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“I support Lee because I’ve known him for many years,” Tien said. “He’s a pragmatic and efficient person, especially when it comes to tackling major crises and incidents. He also has Beijing’s trust and would be a persuasive person in reflecting Hong Kong people’s voices.

“But I’m elected to represent residents in monitoring the government. I think we’d better keep a distance and keep room for disagreeing with his policies. If I nominated him, I think I’d feel pressured [to agree with him],

Tik said: “We care about social reconciliation, democratic development and advancement of social welfare. We have not read about his view on these issues yet so we cannot nominate him yet.”

Lee needed to secure nominations from all of the committee’s five sectors, each consisting of 300 members. His support was strongest in the business and professional groups, with 187 and 184 nominations, respectively. The professional sector was an opposition camp stronghold until Beijing overhauled the electoral system to ensure only “patriots” held power.

He received 160 endorsements in total from the sector that comprises Legco members, district organisations and other similar groups. Another 153 nominations came from the newly created fifth sector, which is made up of 300 local members of the National People’s Congress, the country’s legislature; and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, its top advisory body; and other prominent mainland bodies.

But Lee’s support was relatively weak in the grass roots, labour and religious sectors, with only 102 members backing him so far.

A source from Lee’s office said they welcomed nominations from all sectors.

“Maybe the time is too short and not that many deputy directors of the campaign office are from the grass roots, labour and religious sectors. But we’ve been trying to secure endorsements from all sectors equally,” the insider added.

Meeting dozens of voters in the labour sector virtually on Wednesday afternoon, Lee said he understood the need to alleviate the hardships many residents faced.

“I am a pragmatic person, and all the problems need further analysis and discussion by my future team and the minister responsible for the sector,” he said. “I would also highlight some directions in my upcoming election platform.”

Lee also praised the city’s civil servants, while adding that he hoped he could further boost the government’s efficiency by encouraging more teamwork and improving some systematic foundations.