Court Rejects Joshua Wong Bid Over Disqualification

Pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong has lost in his bid to challenge an election officer's decision to bar him from running in the 2019 District Council elections after the High Court rejected his bid on procedural grounds, saying he should have filed an election petition instead of seeking a judicial review.

Wong was barred from running in the South Horizons West Constituency, after the returning officer made several inquiries with him and decided she couldn't be satisfied he'd uphold the Basic Law and pledge allegiance to the SAR -- despite his signing a declaration saying he'd do so.

A so-called "plan B" candidate for the pan-democratic camp, Kelvin Lam, eventually won the seat in the constituency.

Wong then applied for leave to a judicial review challenging his disqualification, but said he does not seek to overturn the election results.

The leader of the disbanded Demosisto Party said the returning officer's decision has breached the Basic Law and the Bill of Rights, which guarantee a person's right to hold opinion without interference and express his views; to stand for election; and right against discriminatory treatment based on a person’s political opinions.

He also contended that there's a lack of a clear policy or guidance over requirements for election nominations.

However, the High Court rejected his move, saying Wong should have filed an election petition instead.

Speaking after the ruling, Wong said his dispute simply cannot be handled by way of an election petition and the courts are shying away from addressing an abuse of power by bureaucrats.

He said he's worried that more and more pro-democracy candidates will be disqualified in future elections, if the judicial system does not resolve the problem.