After four months of hard work and coordination by different blocs, Democrats 35+ primary election for the Legislative Council (LegCo) is finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel. Covering all five constituencies, the so-called “superseats” – the five-seat District Council (Second) and health services functional constituency, the primary drew in nominees from different political affiliations as well as individuals.

A few items, including voting system, polling stations, voting day timeline and ballot counting, are yet to be ironed out. After votes are counted, some constituencies will have to finalize the number of nominated candidates for the official election in September. There will also be a poll before the official election to consolidate the final lists and assist voters on ballot allocations. There will be challenge every step of the way, but considering how far we have come and the presumptive successful primary election, Democrats 35+ goes beyond picking out candidates for the LegCo race.

First, although disagreement within the pro-democracy camp will not be minimized in the primary election, the primary election will show an united front among them. While some democratic individuals or parties did not participate in the primary, there will be chances that they will be abandoned by voters in the official election or that their supporters will not be included in the strategic voting scheme. However, many might have noticed that the election in Hong Kong, which is indeed a battlefield for breaking through the authoritarian rule, is unlike any formal election in a democratic society.

Second, there has been a long held belief that primary election is a system that favors candidates with party backgrounds, incumbents or those with access to resources from political parties, which discourages amateur politicians from taking part. However, as it turned out, this primary was welcomed by both pro-democratic parties and amateurs. And as a matter of fact, the amateurs are the major advocates of the primary election and are fearless of their disadvantage. Under the Communist China’s tightening grip, differences among blocs do not matter as much indeed. Instead, solidarity is the only way for us to fight the communist rule in Hong Kong.

Fundamental trust in each other among different blocs accounts for the success of this coordination. To be honest, the trust is vulnerable. Even though candidates are required to sign an agreement, it is not a law-abiding document. Political ethic is the only abiding agent for each candidate to uphold the agreement. Therefore, to ensure everyone will comply with the agreement, a high turnout in the primary election is of paramount important. The more the votes, the more binding and legitimate the primary. Breach of agreement will have no place in the pro-democracy camp. In authoritarian Hong Kong, a lone wolf is bound to fail.

Establishment of a mechanism for fight teams

Putting up resistance does not only mean fighting against those in power, but also instituting a system that helps pro-democrats sustain the fight in the long run. If we can establish a mechanism that incorporates different fight teams, then we can demonstrate that the anti-government camp and the civil society are self-managing. In this primary election, from re-designing the electronic voting platform to securing polling stations in each districts, a non-antagonistic yet positive way of putting up resistance has been seen.

The 4th generation of PopVote – introduced by the Public Opinion Programme of the University of Hong Kong in 2012 – is an unofficial civil nomination platform. In answer to more and more concerns about cyber security and privacy, the present voting system requires voters to be present at polling stations for identity verification instead of voting online. Although there were brick-and-mortar polling stations in the past, the number was limited. To accommodate more voters and promote the legitimacy of the primary, more polling stations are required this time around.

Fortunately enough, the encouraging number of over 300 pro-democratic district councillors election has set up district offices throughout 18 districts in Hong Kong after the victory in last year’s district council election. Moreover, the rise of the yellow economic circle has allowed us to open up more polling stations. A ground-breaking number of 250 brick-and-mortar polling stations will be available this time and will hopefully establish a systematic network to unite districts for the sustainability of the democratic movement in Hong Kong.

I believe the effort and willpower of the Democrats 35+ will overcome any challenges and adversity. Irrespective of the result, our work will not be in vain.

(Benny Tai Yiu-Ting is a Hong Kong legal scholar and democracy activist.)

Click here for Chinese version.

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