Veteran Hong Kong lawmakers Starry Lee, Ronick Chan in race for Legco presidency
Lee and Chan are running to succeed Andrew Leung as Legco president, with a vote on January 8
The coming contest will mark the first time two hopefuls from the pro-government camp have vied for the position, with a scholar saying a president chosen through competition would command greater authority.
Lee of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) – the city’s largest political party – was nominated by Liberal Party chairman Peter Shiu Ka-fai and seconded by nine other lawmakers, including party colleague Ben Chan Han-pan and non-affiliated lawmakers Reverend Peter Koon Ho-ming and Grace Chan Man-yee.
The DAB and the Liberal Party together hold 24 seats in the 90-strong legislature.
Meanwhile, Ronick Chan was nominated by Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong (BPA) leader Jimmy Ng Wing-ka, and also seconded by nine lawmakers, including Kingsley Wong Kwok, chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (FTU), and Judy Chan Kapui of the New People’s Party (NPP).