A police group has won an interim injunction preventing the public from viewing electoral registry information upon launching an appeal against a Hong Kong court’s ruling last week.
Last Wednesday, the Court of First Instance dismissed the Junior Police Officers Association’s judicial review which claimed electoral registration regulations contravened privacy and left police officers and their families at risk of doxxing. An injunction granted last October preventing the public from viewing the registers lost effect upon the ruling.
The police group lodged an appeal on Tuesday against the ruling and was granted an interim injunction prohibiting public viewing of the Electoral Affairs Commission registers until next Monday, NOW TV reported. The case will be heard on May 5.
The Hong Kong Journalists Association, an intervener in the initial judicial review case earlier this month, wrote in a statement on Tuesday that it was gravely concerned about the decision: “[We] will watch closely to the development and may file judicial intervention again when necessary.”
The Association previously said that the viewing of electoral registers ensured public transparency by enabling them to identify misconduct, such as vote-rigging.
The Registration and Electoral Office announced on Tuesday that public inspection of registers related to the upcoming Legislative Council election will be suspended until further notice due to the injunction.
