Four 'liberal' Voices Elected To Law Society Council

Four out of five self-described "liberal” candidates were on Thursday evening elected onto the Law Society’s governing council in a tight contest that saw more than 30,000 votes cast.

In all, ten candidates were standing for the five vacant seats on the governing body of the city’s professional body for solicitors.

In a statement, the victorious liberal voices – Kenneth Lam, Janet Pang, Michelle Tsoi and Davyd Wong – said they were thankful for their mandate to uphold the rule of law and enhance the transparency and accountability of the Law Society.

“In this challenging time, we promise we will try our very best to work hard on those issues and uphold the rule of law,” they wrote on their Facebook page.

Also elected to the council was Warren Ganesh, one of five candidates who had earlier gained the backing of Law Society president Melissa Pang.

The society and Pang later clarified that she was backing those candidates in her personal capacity, and was unaware how an e-mail she had sent out with her preferred choice of candidates had been leaked out.

The election was given additional importance amid conflicts over differing visions for the society’s role in Hong Kong’s future, with candidates also framing the poll as a fight for the future of Hong Kong’s common law system.