Tight race in LegCo polls as turnout dips
Pro-establishment candidates had a chance to win in two of the three geographical constituencies in the Hong Kong Legislative Council by-election on Sunday.
According to various exit polls after polling closed at 10:30 pm, Vincent Cheng Wing-shun and Bill Tang Ka-piu, both of the city’s biggest political party — the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) — stood a chance of winning the Kowloon West and New Territories East seats, respectively, in a tight finish amid a low turnout.
A total of four seats were up for grabs in the by-election that was triggered by the disqualification of six lawmakers for improperly taking their oaths after having won the 2016 elections. Two other seats being contested in Sunday’s polls were in the Hong Kong Island geographical constituency and the Architectural, Surveying, Planning and Landscape functional constituency.
Former legislator Tony Tse Wai-chuen was expected to emerge victorious in the Architectural, Surveying, Planning and Landscape constituency from his sole opponent Paulus Johannes Zimmerman.
About 2.1 million eligible voters were expected to cast their ballots from 7:30 am to 10:30 pm. The overall turnout rate in the three geographical constituencies stood at 43 percent, compared with a final turnout rate of 58.28 percent in all the geographical constituencies in the 2016 elections.
Former chief executive and Vice-Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Tung Chee-hwa, who returned to Hong Kong from attending the two sessions in Beijing to cast his vote, described the by-elections as of “great importance” as Hong Kong is at a “critical juncture”.
“The chapter of political wrangling should now end. Calls for ‘Hong Kong independence’ and ‘self-determination’ will cause a lot of damage to the city,” Tung said after casting his ballot on Sunday morning.
Appealing to Hong Kong residents to exercise their voting rights, he said: “We should elect people who are constructive and pragmatic, and can genuinely serve Hong Kong as lawmakers.”
Winding up his campaigning on Sunday, Vincent Cheng said he was worried about the low turnout rate. He said the elections were “not just about politics” and pledged that, if elected, he would work to stop filibustering in the legislature and strive to improve the people’s livelihood.
In the Hong Kong Island geographical constituency, district councilor from the New People’s Party Judy Chan Ka-pui was pitted against three other candidates. She said, if elected, she would bring back rational voices to the LegCo and safeguard rule of law.
New Territories East saw the most bitterly fought contest with six candidates vying for the seat. Bill Tang, who’s a district councilor of both the DAB and the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, believed he could help stop disputes in the legislature and restore unity in the council if he won.
Tony Tse said he was worried that limited voting stations in the by-election could dent people’s willingness to vote in the functional constituency. He urged residents to join him in defending the professional he stands for.
Yip Pui-lam, a community organizer in Sham Shui Po, said he hoped that Hong Kong’s new lawmakers could be more rational in the council and get down to tackling the city’s critical issues, including housing, education and poverty in districts like Sham Shui Po.
A voter surnamed Lam, who’s a company secretary and a mother of a 10-year-old boy in the Hong Kong Island constituency, said she expected whoever is elected to contribute to the city’s economic development, improve the city’s education system and help reduce the pressure on school children.
New members of Hong Kong’s legislature must perform their duties in line with the law to ensure the city’s orderly development, SAR political heavyweights urged on Sunday.
New lawmakers should also develop a broader vision to help Hong Kong seize the opportunities brought about by the nation’s rapid economic development.
The calls came as Hong Kong voters went to the polls on Sunday in by-elections to fill four of six seats vacated by legislators who were disqualified last year for improperly taking their oaths.
Hong Kong Deputy to the National People’s Congress Chan Yung said new Legislative Council members should help build a “functional, orderly and efficient” legislature by acting in accordance with laws and regulations.
A functional LegCo would mean greater efficiency in handling issues concerning the well-being of Hong Kong people, he said.
Chan also urged incoming legislators to safeguard one of the SAR’s core values — the rule of law — while respecting the country’s constitutional framework and order.
Ip Kwok-him — NPC deputy and a member of Hong Kong’s Executive Council — said new lawmakers should possess a broader vision to seek development opportu- nities outside the SAR, such as those offered by the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Belt and Road Initiative.
By so doing, they would help Hong Kong integrate better with the nation’s overall development, he said.
NPC Deputy Stanley Ng Chau-pei hoped that new LegCo members would adopt a new positive working style to end filibustering that had severely disrupted the council’s work in the past.
He said they should work hand-in-hand with fellow lawmakers in pressing ahead with Hong Kong’s development, overseeing the government’s work and, most importantly, improving the people’s well-being.
Similar sentiments were echoed by NPC Deputy Andrew Yao Cho-fai, who urged LegCo members, old and new, to strive harder in familiarizing themselves with the country’s newly amended Constitution, as well as the SAR’s Basic Law, as they serve as the legal base for Hong Kong as a special administrative region of China.
A functional Legislative Council would mean greater efficiency in handling issues concerning the well-being of Hong Kong people.” Chan Yung, Hong Kong deputy to the National People’s Congress