Editorial | Legco hopefuls must make the coming weeks count

A total of 161 hopefuls have submitted their nomination forms for the 90 seats up for grabs, seven more than in 2021, when Beijing overhauled the electoral system. Among them, 51 are vying for geographical constituencies, 60 for the trade-based functional constituencies and 50 for the Election Committee constituency.

Barring vetting and disqualifications by the authorities, none of the seats are set to be filled uncontested, a contrast to the polls before the revamp when some seats were returned without competition. Some districts are hotly contested this time, while the numbers of contestants for the trade-based seats and election committee have slightly eased. As expected, the race is confined to the patriotic camp. A centrist group managed to nominate two runners while another failed to secure enough nominations to stand.

With a record high number of incumbents not seeking re-election – 35 of 89 members, or nearly 40 per cent – concerns over a loss of political experience are understandable, but it has also made room for more new and young faces to come forward.

Earlier, the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office dismissed suggestions that Beijing was manipulating the elections. There was also no question of a “blessing” list. The contests across all seats suggest no candidates have been guaranteed comfortable victory.

The government is engaging in all-out efforts to promote the election, including urging civil servants to vote and appealing to the private sector to help employees cast their ballots. Officials also vowed to take action against those who sabotage the ballot, including by publicly inciting others not to vote or to cast invalid ballots, an offence punishable by up to three years’ jail and a HK$200,000 (US$25,700) fine.