Hong Kong elections: only 3 Legislative Council candidates identify as ‘pro democracy’, demand universal suffrage in official poll statements
- Number of candidates clearly standing on a pro-democracy platform amounts to 2 per cent of all 153 hopefuls, Post study shows
- No 2 official says December 19 poll will be a ‘competitive’ contest with ‘different political spectrums’ represented
Other non-establishment hopefuls stated in their official profiles submitted to the electoral office that they wanted a reactivation of constitutional reform, people arrested in the 2019 protests to be reintegrated into society, or more political diversity in the legislature, among other causes.
The personal manifestos were revealed as the city’s No 2 official John Lee Ka-chiu on Saturday hailed the range of voices vying for seats in next month’s “non-homogeneous” Legco election.
With three weeks to go until Hong Kong’s first direct election under Beijing’s overhaul of the city’s electoral system to ensure only “patriots” held public office, the spotlight during a Saturday debate between candidates continued to fall on the political stances adopted by those outside the pro-establishment bloc.
In the absence of candidates from opposition parties for the first time in Hong Kong history, most of the 10 geographical contests in the December 19 poll involve two or three pro-Beijing candidates competing for two seats alongside a solitary non-establishment independent or centrist hopeful.
The Post has analysed the introductory and electoral messages from all 153 candidates recently published on the Registration and Electoral Office’s website.
The only three candidates calling for universal suffrage are independent democrat Nelson Wong Sing-chi and district councillors Adrian Lau Cheuk-yu and Daryl Choi Ming-hei.