Seven have joined the pro-democracy camp’s primary election for the upcoming Legislative Council by-elections in March, including disqualified lawmaker Edward Yiu.
The deadline for joining the primary election ended at noon on Monday. According to Andrew Chiu, convener of the mediating platform Power for Democracy, there were four effective nominations for Kowloon West and three for the New Territories East constituency.
Yiu, activist Ken Tsang, Democratic Party district councillor Ramon Yuen and Association for Democracy and People’s Livelihood’s Frederick Fung put their names in for the vacant seat in Kowloon West.
Former lawmaker Gary Fan, former Occupy protests student leader Tommy Cheung, and Labour Party chairman Steven Kwok are candidates for the seat in New Territories East.
Yiu, who was elected a lawmaker in the surveying sector before he was disqualified, previously said he would only switch to Kowloon West if there was “an overwhelming need.” Tsang told news site HK01 that he was considering whether to pull out.
There will not be primary elections for the Hong Kong Island constituency, nor for the Architectural, Surveying, Planning and Landscape functional constituency. Demosisto’s Agnes Chow is planning to run in the Hong Kong Island constituency in order to retake the seat left by her party’s disqualified lawmaker Nathan Law.
Power for Democracy will announce the voting mechanism for the primary on Tuesday.
In the pro-Beijing camp, district councillors Bill Tang, Vincent Cheng, and Judy Chan are tipped to run for seats in New Territories East, Kowloon West and Hong Kong Island respectively.
The nomination period for the by-elections will run between January 16 and 29.
The four seats were left vacant as former lawmakers Nathan Law and Edward Yiu did not appeal their disqualifications, whilst Baggio Leung and Yau Wai-ching failed to have their appeal heard at Hong Kong’s highest court.
Ousted lawmakers “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung and Lau Siu-lai filed appeals over their disqualifications, so their seats will not be filled by the March by-elections.
