Fewer hopefuls to contest Election Committee seats

Michael Shum

Fewer candidates will be contesting the Election Committee elections compared to 2016 following the electoral changes as the nomination period closed yesterday.

The count was 1,056 - a figure more than 30 percent less than the 1,553 nominations received in the 2016 Election Committee polls that chose the city's chief executive.

Under the changes passed by the Legislative Council in May, the Election Committee will choose the chief executive in March and, additionally, take up 40 seats in the legislature and be responsible for nominating other candidates for the Legco polls in December.

The number of nominees in many subsectors is also identical to the number of seats as of now, which means validly nominated candidates will be automatically elected.

So far, six subsectors will be contested - insurance, education, medical and health services, labor, social welfare, and architectural, surveying, planning and landscape.

More business leaders submitted nominations yesterday, including Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce vice chairman Oscar Chow Vee-tsung and chief executive George Leung Siu-kay.

Leung said he will serve Hongkongers on behalf of the chamber, which has been doing "its utmost" to serve the community.

"We have rolled out lucky draws to fight the pandemic as well as provide job opportunities for youngsters in the Greater Bay Area and we will continue providing the industry with service and assistance in the future," he said.

Billionaire Li Ka-shing, 92, will not join the race, while the property and infrastructural conglomerate he founded, CK Hutchison, will send at least four people to to stand in the elections.

PCCW, the information and communications technology company chaired by his son Richard Li Tzar-kai, will send two people to run.

At least seven nominees are related to Sun Hung Kai Properties, while at least five each work at Wheelock and Co and Swire Group.

New World Development and Henderson Land will have at least three running in the Election Committee subsector elections to be held on September 19.

Dozens of nominees are affiliated with mainland companies, while at least 10 are from the Bank of China and its affiliated companies, while at least six are related to China Travel Service.

Of the nominees, around 80 are pro-establishment figures who were unsuccessful in their 2019 district council election bids.

Most of the nominees submitted their nominations through the newly added area committees, district fight crime committees, and district fire safety committees subsector, while at least 11 submitted theirs through the grassroot associations subsector.

michael.shum@singtaonewscorp.com