New guidelines for Hong Kong’s district councillors allow proxy voting, but minister confident privilege won’t be abused
- Rule allowing councillors to vote for colleagues had been dropped by 16 of 18 municipal-level bodies, but restored in new guidelines
- Home Affairs chief Alice Mak not worried about absenteeism, noting councillors now required to attend at least 80 per cent of meetings
District councillors have once again been given permission to vote on behalf of their colleagues at meetings after the government endorsed the practice, with the minister in charge of the politicians expressing confidence that the power will not be abused.
Secretary for Home Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen on Saturday said the rule, which had been dropped by 16 of the 18 district councils in the previous four-year term, would not encourage absences given the new requirement of 80 per cent of attendance at meetings.
“The restored rule does not mean it has to be used,” she told a radio programme. “It’s there just in case district councillors might be ill and can’t make the meetings, but would like to express an opinion. They could appoint someone else to vote for them.”
In the past, some members had “vanished” after being elected to the municipal-level bodies, Mak said, noting that at least three councillors only turned up to meetings for 15 minutes once every four months - the previous minimum requirement.
But the minister said she was convinced the reinstated rule would not be abused by the 470 councillors who started their new term on January 1 as new guidelines required they attend at least 80 per cent of meetings.
Councillors should also keep their offices open at least 40 hours a week, with at least 10 per cent of that time falling on weekday evenings, weekends and public holidays, according to the guidelines.
Sai Kung district council was one of the municipal-level bodies that abolished the rule allowing proxy voting in 2016 after members reached a consensus, according to then chairman George Ng Sze-fuk.
“I was not aware of anyone abusing the rule back then,” Ng said. “And there was a consensus that the district councillors had to be responsible towards voters and the council, and appear at meetings, which is why the rule was abolished.”
Reinstating the rule was not a step backwards, he said, adding that councillors would behave according to the new guidelines and the high expectations the public had placed on them.
But Democratic Party chairman Lo Kin-hei disagreed, saying proxy voting was regressive. In the Southern district council that he formerly chaired, the rule was dropped in 2012, he said, adding that doing so did not impact the operations of the body.
“You can’t imagine lawmakers appointing someone else to vote on their behalf, right?” he said.
“The authorities are doing so much to make sure the councillors work hard,” Lo said. “They should really cancel this rule to show how important they think district councils are. It’s as if they’re sending a message that council members do not need to be present to vote.”
“The events proposed are more convenient for residents as they do not need to congregate in just one area,” she said. “People can visit nearby areas in their neighbourhood which are easy to reach.”
