Hong Kong district council election: aspirants must rely on ‘own efforts’, John Lee says while dismissing opposition call for access to nomination bodies
- City leader insists authorities will continue to relay queries from hopefuls to district-level committee members from which candidates must secure nominations
- Opposition parties have called for contact information of committee members to be made available, citing difficulties in touching base
Hong Kong’s leader on Tuesday insisted aspirants in the coming district council election must rely on their “own efforts” to secure a spot in the race, pushing back on an opposition party’s request for more access to nomination bodies.
The city is set to elect new members for its municipal-level district councils on December 10. But unlike previously where more than 90 per cent of seats were chosen by the popular vote, only 88 of the 470 seats would be returned in similar fashion in this year’s election.
“The membership lists of committees are public. Anyone who has participated in an election knows that you have to make your own efforts to secure the nominations,” Lee on Tuesday said, referring to three types of district-level bodies from which hopefuls have to win tickets.
Election aspirants across the city’s 18 districts are required to clear national security checks and secure at least three nomination tickets from each committee type, which are filled with pro-Beijing grass-root leaders.
The three types of bodies are – area committees, district fire safety committees and district fight crime committees. There are more than 50 of such committees in total.
Hong Kong watchdog decides against rules for care team members in district poll
The Democratic Party, which plans to field eight candidates in the direct election, has urged authorities to share the contact information of the government-appointed committees to ensure a fair race, claiming it had encountered difficulties in reaching members.
The call has been echoed by Ronny Tong Ka-wah, a member of the city leader’s key decision-making body the Executive Council. Tong, a barrister, warned that any unfair barrier imposed on potential candidates might bring about court challenges.
But Lee on Tuesday maintained authorities would continue to refer requests from election hopefuls to committee members, revealing the Home Affairs Department had already made nearly 100 such referrals.
“Systematically, those who want to take part in the election are offered the opportunity to reach out, enabling members of the three committees to consider whether to give nominations,” he told the press before his weekly Exco meeting.
Hong Kong Democratic Party endorses 8 hopefuls for district council poll
The overhauled district council composition and election rules, in line with Beijing’s “patriots-only” policy direction, was passed by the Legislative Council in July.
Apart from the Democratic Party, the Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People’s Livelihood is the other opposition party that has signalled an intention to stand in this year’s poll.
A register of eligible voters who sit in the three committee types released on Monday only shows the first Chinese character or first part of members’ names alongside their primary residential addresses.
The nomination period for the district council election is set to start next Tuesday and end on October 30.
