Why has election watchdog been snoozing as others act?

Not only have Mr Justice Barnabas Fung Wah and his colleagues at the Electoral Affairs Commission been found sleeping on the job, but it is also proving astonishingly difficult to rouse them from their slumber.

As news trickled and then streamed out about suspicious irregularities in the registration of voters, followed by a slew of arrests, the commission did nothing until, on November 30, it issued a statement saying no discrepancies were found on the Northern District electoral register. It later said it had sent out 674 letters inquiring about other registrations and had received responses from 104 confirming they are bona fide voters. There is a sense here of an organisation determined to find that nothing has gone wrong. At the least, why is this alleged watchdog so determined not to watch?

Print option is available for subscribers only.
SUBSCRIBE NOW
Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.