A centrist Hong Kong political party has said it will not field candidates to run in the upcoming “patriots-only” District Council race as they had failed to receive the required nominations.
Caspar Wong, the vice-chairperson of Third Side, told HKFP on Friday that he would not speculate as to why the party’s candidates had failed to get the nominations needed to run.
“Elections have never been easy… when we face difficulties, we keep going forward,” Wong said in Cantonese, adding that the party would “look towards the future.”
To run in the District Council race in December – the first since an overhaul of its electoral system – a candidate must receive at least three nominations from government-appointed committees.
The requirement is one of several unveiled in May to ensure only “patriots” could be elected, following a pro-democracy landslide in 2019, when the city last voted for who would represent them in the local advisory bodies.
The overhaul, which was approved in July, also saw the number of democratically elected seats cut from over 450 to 88. The remaining sets will be chosen by the city’s leader, government-appointed committees and officials.
Third Side had intended to field two candidates – Timothy Chui and Marie Pang – to run in the newly restricted District Council elections. Chui was meant to run in the Tseung Kwan O district, while Pang was hoping to be on the slate in the Yau Tsim Mong district.
Wong told HKFP on Friday that the party had sent letters and emails to the members of the three committees after obtaining their contacts through the Home Affairs Department, but ultimately, the number of nominations they received was not enough.
Pro-democracy parties the Democratic Party and the Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People’s Livelihood have both said they have struggled to get nominations.
389 nominations so far
The nomination period for the patriots-only election began last Tuesday and will end on Monday. As of Thursday, 389 nominations had been received.
Hong Kong’s largest pro-establishment party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), said earlier this month that it would field 122 candidates to run.
Pro-Beijing groups like the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions and the New People’s Party, and the pro-business Liberal Party have also submitted nomination forms.
Chief Executive John Lee said on Tuesday that those who were struggling to get nominated should “look into why they have problems.”
“It might involve various reasons. Nominators might think the candidates cannot fulfil their responsibility as district councillors, have concerns over their performance, not believe they love the country and Hong Kong, or that they are not sincere in upholding the Basic Law and bearing allegiance to the Hong Kong SAR, ” Lee said in Cantonese.
The overhaul of the District Council elections followed major changes to the Legislative Council and chief executive electoral systems.
In March, 2021, Beijing passed legislation to ensure “patriots” govern Hong Kong. The move reduced democratic representation in the legislature, tightened control of elections and introduced a pro-Beijing vetting panel to select candidates. The Hong Kong government said the overhaul would ensure the city’s stability and prosperity. But the changes also prompted international condemnation, as it makes it near-impossible for pro-democracy candidates to stand.
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