Officials non-committal on whether disqualified lawmakers allowed to stand in Hong Kong by-elections
Undersecretary for constitutional and mainland affairs Andy Chan says decision down to electoral officers, but pan-democrats want assurances
Hong Kong’s opposition pan-democrat lawmakers on Thursday took aim at the government for failing to state clearly whether their allies stripped by a court of their seats would be allowed to contest by-elections in March.
Andy Chan Shui-fu, undersecretary for constitutional and mainland affairs, would only say that the electoral officers in charge would “have the full power” to decide on candidacy issues “according to the law”.
The by-elections on March 11 are to fill four seats vacated by Nathan Law Kwun-chung, Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang, Yau Wai-ching and Edward Yiu Chung-yim, who were disqualified last year for improper oaths of office.
The seats are in the Hong Kong Island, New Territories East and Kowloon West constituencies, as well as the architectural, surveying, planning and landscape functional constituency which represents professionals in that sector in the city’s legislature.
Yiu is one of several pan-democrats seeking to win the camp’s endorsement to run in Kowloon West. But some pan-democrats, including legal sector representative Dennis Kwok of the Civic Party, have expressed concern over whether the government would have Yiu’s candidacy invalidated, even though the law does not forbid a disqualified lawmaker from standing for election again.
