100 members
the approximate number of Election Committee members from the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong
Election Committee (EC) member Ip Kwok-him thinks Chief Executive candidate Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor stands a good chance of winning the CE election and praises her as the most suitable candidate.
Ip feels Lam’s major task, once elected, should be selecting capable, like-minded people to become principal officials and Executive Council members. He also expects she will improve relations with the opposition camp.
“I guess she will win, given that her strong capability and familiarity with government operations have won the recognition of the EC members at large,” Ip told China Daily.
He disclosed that electors from his party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, were inclined to vote for her. On Friday the party’s central committee will hold a special meeting to decide its final voting intention.
Lam, who was formerly chief secretary for administration, secured 580 nominations from many EC subsectors — just 21 short of the number of votes required to win the election. Her opponent John Tsang Chun-wah had 165 nominations, about 80 percent of which came from the opposition camp. The third candidate Woo Kwok-hing received 180 nominations, all from the “pan-democrats”.
Ip also stressed that the central government has the substantive authority to appoint or not appoint the elected candidate. This is not a rubber stamp.
He attended the latest election debate on Sunday which involved all three candidates. Of the 21 questions asked at the forum, 19 were from “pan-democratic” EC members who were hostile to Lam, leaving her in an adverse situation. The other two candidates also belea- guered her.
“If I had the chance, I would ask Tsang why he said he has support from a wide political spectrum, yet most of his nominations came from the opposition. I think only when one has the same level of support from both camps can he say he has support from a wide political spectrum,” Ip said.
At the forum, Tsang accused Lam of not maintaining good relations with civil servants and said there were no former civil servants working in her campaign team.
But Ip noted there were in fact several senior ex-civil servants in her team.
“I am dismayed that he (Tsang) boasted he has help from ex-civil servants, including two former permanent secretaries. Knowing civil servants are politically neutral, he should not sow seeds of discord and drag them into trouble,” he said.
Ip also criticized the opposition camp for lacking political ethics. “They have known Carrie Lam for many years as a very competent and communicative official. Yet once she announced her candidacy, they started attacking her,” he added.
I guess she (Carrie Lam) will win, given that her strong capability and familiarity with government operations have won the recognition of the EC members at large.” Ip Kwok-him, Election Committee member