Govt Has No Plans To Hold Legco By-elections

The government on Friday said it has no plans to hold any Legco by-elections before a general election scheduled for September next year, citing the continuing risk posed by the coronavirus pandemic.

The announcement comes hours after the Court of Final Appeal decided against hearing an appeal from Yan Chan, who had lost her Legco seat after a lower court ruled that there was a “clear material irregularity” in the November 2018 by-election which she won.

A returning officer was deemed to have failed to give pro-democracy candidate Lau Siu-lai a chance to explain her position before disqualifying her from the race.

Lau has called for a new by-election to be held, while Legco President Andrew Leung said it’s for the government to decide on the arrangements.

On Friday evening, the Mainland and Constitutional Affairs Bureau said holding by-elections would involve large numbers of voters casting ballots on the same day, which would create a “very high risk” of coronavirus infection.

It said elderly voters would be especially vulnerable, and large-scale voting should be avoided as far as possible during a pandemic.

A spokesman added that while there has been a recent drop in new infections, fighting the virus remains the top priority for the government, and the general community.

There’s no way to know when the epidemic will end, he said.

The spokesman added that current social-distancing regulations means candidates would be unable to hold any meaningful campaigning activities, and a large number of voters in the mainland or overseas would not be able to come back to vote.

To ensure a fair and open election, and to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the spokesman said, authorities have no plan to hold by-elections before the 2021 Legco poll.

The government had scrapped the Legco election originally scheduled to be held earlier this month, citing the coronavirus outbreak.

A completely new exercise will be launched next year, with the election due to be held on September 5, 2021.

The current Legco term has been extended until then.