Hong Kong election authority confirms May 8 as date for chief executive race
- Nomination period will run from April 3 to 16 and hopefuls must submit completed forms by 5pm on April 14
- Carrie Lam says she has not received any resignation letter from her ministers and sidesteps question on chances of being Beijing’s preferred candidate
Hong Kong’s election authority has confirmed May 8 as the date for the city’s leadership race, with the nomination period set to run from April 3 to 16.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Friday remained coy when asked whether she would join the race or if Chief Secretary John Lee Ka-chiu or Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po would resign to run for the election.
“I won’t answer this question. But I can make a factual clarification: I did not receive any letter of resignation from any secretary or minister. If I did, I would need to report to the central government immediately and announce it,” she said.
On when she would decide whether to enter the race and her chances of being Beijing’s preferred candidate, Lam would only say: “I have no answer for you except to reiterate that according to the laws of Hong Kong, the nomination period for the next chief executive election will still [begin on] April 3.”
Apart from Lee and Chan, former city leader Leung Chun-ying and New People’s Party chairwoman Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee are among the names being touted as potential candidates.
But on Friday, Ip said she would not comment on the election. “There is no need to say anything as the nomination period has not yet started,” she said.
