'Legco Poll Postponement May Be Announced Tonight'

The Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, has called a press conference at 6pm on Friday, after sources told RTHK the government could announce an unprecedented decision to delay the Legislative Council elections by as much as a whole year.

The media invite did not specify what Lam will be speaking about.

However, numerous reports of the expected postponement have emerged in recent days, following appeals from many pro-establishment politicians for such a delay, on the grounds the coronavirus outbreak makes it impossible for a fair and just election to be held.

National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) member Tam Yiu-chung, for example, had said the poll should be postponed because many Hong Kong people who have moved to the Greater Bay Area would not be able to come back to cast their votes, because they would have to be quarantined for two weeks.

Pro-democracy lawmakers, though, on Friday issued a statement warning that a postponement would be tantamount to a power-grab that would trigger a constitutional crisis and fundamentally shake the whole basis of the Hong Kong SAR.

“The incumbent pro-democracy legislators – who represent the will of 60 percent of the population – collectively and sternly oppose a postponement,” they said.

“We stress that the government has the responsibility to arrange anti-epidemic measures to the full extent of its ability so the September poll can be held as scheduled. Otherwise, it’s tantamount to uprooting the entire basis of the SAR.”

The 22 lawmakers accused the government of conspiring with the pro-establishment camp to delay the election using the coronavirus as an excuse, because they’re facing a tough challenge at the ballot box.

They added that local laws do not allow the authorities to seize control of elections and strip away the people’s right to vote.

Further, they note that Legco’s four-year term is a constitutional requirement, and the law only allows for a delay of only up to two weeks.

If the NPCSC should intervene to allow for a one-year delay, as some have suggested, would cause a complete collapse of Hong Kong’s constitutional system, the lawmakers said.

______________________________