‘Long Hair’ admits he might fall short on public support for Hong Kong chief executive run

Legislator still off target of 37,790 votes in unofficial poll

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Leung Kwok-hung was an unlikely addition to the field for the chief executive vote. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 1:15pm, 9 Feb 2017Updated: 2:21pm, 9 Feb 2017

Legislator Leung Kwok-hung, a new and unlikely contender in the chief executive election, admitted he could struggle to get the public support necessary to join the race for the city’s top job.

Leung, better known as “Long Hair”, announced on Wednesday that he might join the race, if he got 37,790 votes from the public – 1 per cent of the city’s registered voters – in an unofficial poll held by post-Occupy protest group Citizens United in Action.

A group of pro-democracy activists and academics launched the unofficial poll to allow public participation in what is largely seen as a “small circle” election for the city’s leader.

The 1,194 members of the city’s election committee pick the chief executive. To be on that ballot, an entrant needs 150 nominations from members of the same committee. They then need at least 601 votes to win the job.

Leung, a pan-democrat from the League of Social Democrats, estimated he would need 3,300 votes from the public every day to meet the 1 per cent threshold in the unofficial poll. Some pan-democratic Election Committee members have said Leung should only be considered for nomination if he can make that amount.