Nearly 70% of Hong Kong people want the Legislative Council election to be held as soon as possible, according to a new survey conducted by an independent research institute.

The Sept. 6 election was postponed by the government, citing pandemic concerns. Last month, China’s National People’s Congress decided that incumbent lawmakers should stay on for an extra year as a result of the delayed election.

But 68% Hongkongers said that the election should be held as soon as possible, according to a new Facebook survey conducted by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute. Among the 14,691 respondents — all Hong Kong residents over 12 years old — 27% opposed to holding an election soon.

Of the respondents who identified as supporters of the pro-democracy camp, 96% said the election should be held. Among this group, 48% said the election should be concluded within a day. Of those who did not support the pro-democracy camp, 36% believed the election should be held, while 55% opposed the notion.

The survey results showed that most residents wanted the election to go on as planned, said Baptist University political scientist Kenneth Chan. He criticized the government for delaying the election without scientific grounds and warned that it may try to further postpone the vote.

“Chief Executive Carrie Lam and the pro-establishment camp can avoid the election for now, but they cannot avoid it forever,” Chan said.

The pro-establishment camp have often used New Zealand as an example of a government that postponed an election as a result of COVID-19, but Chan pointed out that New Zealand’s decision was made after consulting scientists, doctors, political parties and citizens — a process that has not happened in Hong Kong — and that the government has taken strong anti-epidemic measures to ensure that the election could be reheld after four weeks.

Chan added that 77 countries carried on with their elections, including Montenegro, which even moved its election earlier to preempt the pandemic.

Meanwhile, 41% of respondents in a separate survey that polled 14,747 people said they wished to go back to work normally. Some 41% believed restrictions on social gatherings should be lifted, 43% said they wished public facilities would reopen and 46% said they wished food and beverage establishments could resume their regular operations.

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