Hopefuls Sign Up For September Legco Polls

The nomination period for September's Legislative Council elections opened on Saturday, with several political parties immediately putting forward their list of would-be candidates.

The largest pro-establishment party in Hong Kong, the DAB, plan to set out 12 teams to contest geographical and functional constituencies.

The pro-Beijing Federation of Trade Unions will also field five lists of candidates.

Localist party Civic Passion, meanwhile, put forward three teams to vie for seats in the geographical constituencies.

The number of registered voters has reached a record high of 4.46 million this year.

The nominations will be vetted by returning officers appointed by the Electoral Affairs Commission, who will determine the validity of the candidates by studying their political stance and whether they are committed to upholding the Basic Law.

Many pro-democracy candidates fear they risk disqualification, and speculation is rife that those who oppose the new national security legislation will be banned from running in the September 6 polls.

The nomination period closes on July 31.