Field of 26 entrants includes six who registered on final nomination day

A total of 26 people entered the Legislative Council by-elections scheduled for May 16 as the nomination period came to an end Thursday, with six people signing on the final day.

Speaking on the last day of the nomination period, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Stephen Lam reiterated the government stance that the by-elections, forced by the resignations of five lawmakers from the Civic Party (CP) and the League of Social Democrats (LSD), is totally unnecessary.

"The number of nominees, including the distribution of political backgrounds and the number of unaffiliated nominees, is on the whole within our expectations," he said.

Regarding publicity, the government has earmarked around HK$3 million for this purpose.

As to whether Chief Executive Donald Tsang and other principal officials will vote, Lam replied, "They will make their own decision nearer the polling day."

Ivan Choy, senior instructor at the Chinese University's government and public administration department, said that as the candidates for the by-elections come from different backgrounds, the subjects of debates at election forums will be limited to gossip, integrity of the candidates and factional strife within the political party, instead of universal suffrage as the CP and LSD had expected.

According to past experience, the turnout rate of by-elections is about 80 percent that of general elections. "I guess the turnout rate will be no higher than 30 percent," Choy said. "The electoral culture in Hong Kong is that people will vote for candidates they like, but not on the issues, and I don't see any big change in the coming campaign," he predicted.

In the 2007 Hong Kong Island by-election, which was dubbed as a "duel" between two heavyweights, Anson Chan and Regina Ip, the turnout rate was 52 percent, but in a by-election in 2000, the turnout rate was only 33 percent.

Committee for the Basic Law member Maria Tam said she would not vote, because the by-election is unnecessary and has become a farce. She believes that the five resigned lawmakers would win and return to the legislature but also that they will still have to face the electoral package for 2012.

China Daily

(HK Edition 04/09/2010 page1)