Hong Kong opposition parties fail to secure enough nominations to allow any hopefuls to run in coming district council poll
- Some pro-establishment groups have also complained that revamped electoral rules made it harder for their members to join the December 10 race
- Democratic Party says none of its six aspirants met threshold for running while two hopefuls from ADPL also missed out
The first district-level poll since the revamp will have 171 hopefuls, from either pro-establishment groups or as independents, vying for 88 directly elected seats in 44 geographical constituencies across Hong Kong, according to the electoral office.
The Democratic Party, the city’s largest opposition group, announced on Monday that none of its six aspirants met the threshold for running in the December 10 election despite efforts to reach members of three district committees empowered by Beijing to nominate hopefuls.
“We feel a great sense of powerlessness … We have completely no idea why they did not nominate us,” party chairman Lo Kin-hei said after the two-week nomination period closed at 5pm.
“This will definitely affect how we serve the community when our incumbent councillors end their term later this year.”
Lo said members would meet soon to discuss the development of the party, which will be left with no seats at the district level after the poll. It has no seats in the Legislative Council.