No Decision Yet On Legco Poll Date: Patrick Nip

The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Patrick Nip, says it's still too early to decide whether September's Legco elections should be postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Speaking at a Legco meeting on Tuesday, Nip admitted that the poll date would usually be gazetted about half a year before the election date.

But it wasn't published in March due to the "unexpected circumstances" brought by the virus outbreak, he said.

Nip said officials are still doing all the preparation work needed to hold the polls in September, but are also keeping a close eye on the development of the pandemic.

Opposition lawmakers, Civic Passion's Cheng Chung-tai and People Power's Ray Chan, asked if the government has a timetable for deciding whether the polls should take place as scheduled or not.

Cheng said this issue is linked to the fundamental rights of all Hong Kong people.

Nip said election preparations, such as voter registration, consultation on Legco election guidelines, recruitment of polling staff and getting polling stations ready, are all ongoing.

“But it is too early to say. We want to monitor it and make an assessment,” he said.