Hong Kong’s largest pro-Beijing party admits facing uphill fight at coming district council elections as anti-government protests rage

Hong Kong’s largest pro-Beijing political party has admitted that it is facing its toughest challenge in the coming district council elections amid backlash from the now-withdrawn extradition bill and the possibility of the polls being cancelled because of ongoing protests.

The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) said it would still send 179 candidates for the November elections, to face 99 from the Democratic Party.

The pro-establishment bloc is expected to suffer at the polls as the anti-government protests rage. The nomination period in the race to elect 452 district councillors began on Thursday and will end on October 17, with election day set on November 24.

Pro-government lawmakers brace for impact in district council elections

At a press conference, DAB chairwoman Starry Lee Wai-king said 96 incumbent district councillors would seek re-election.

“We understand it is a very critical situation for us,” Lee said, claiming that 21 offices were damaged in the past three months amid the protests.

The Democratic Party – the largest group in the pro-democracy camp – said it would send 99 members, including 60 aged below 40.

Lee Wing-tat, a former chairman of the party, said the ongoing anti-government movement had deepened the group’s ties with young voters.

“In the past, young people thought the Democratic Party was no different from the pro-establishment camp, saying we lacked creativity and were just occupying seats,” Lee Wing-tat said.

The party’s lawmakers, including Wu Chi-wai and Roy Kwong Chun-yu, have been active on the front lines of protests, as mediators.

Lee Wing-tat also said the pro-democracy camp would send candidates to contest 95 per cent of the district council seats, after close to 70 councillors – mostly pro-Beijing – ran uncontested in the previous polls in 2015.

On Thursday, former student leader Tommy Cheung Sau-yin also announced he would be running for a Yuen Long District Council seat.

Meanwhile, some pro-Beijing lawmakers have called for the November elections to be postponed, pointing out that polling stations could be besieged under the heated political climate.

By law, the chief executive can postpone an election for up to 14 days if he or she deems it likely to be “obstructed, disrupted, undermined or seriously affected by riots or open violence, or any danger to public health or safety”.

Beijing expected to order pro-establishment politicians to toe line

A government source told the Post earlier that the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau was looking into the possibility of cancelling polls in districts where protests might erupt, to “ensure the fairness of the elections”.

The source added that elections in an entire district could be scrapped if one or two constituencies were affected by protests.

Lee Wing-tat, however, said voters would only be more irritated by any delay.

“It would be stupid for the government to do that, unless they never hold an election again,” Lee said.

He also said the party would lodge a legal challenge against the government if the elections were postponed.

Starry Lee said her party did not ask for the polls to be delayed, but added: “We are asking for a fair and peaceful election … The government has to ensure that every voter who comes out does not need to fear anything and can cast his or her votes safely.”

Chinese University political scientist Ma Ngok said delaying the polls would only worsen the election chances of the pro-establishment camp.

“It will give the impression that the government is manipulating the elections,” Ma said.

“It may inspire more voters to come out and ‘punish’ them.”

District council polls are conducted every fours years.

While motions passed by district councillors are not legally binding, the government consults them on community matters.