Hong Kong’s electoral overhaul will likely eliminate minor parties: pro-Beijing lawmakers

蘋果日報 2021/03/11 06:30


Beijing’s expected overhaul of Hong Kong’s electoral system will lead to a power-dynamics reshuffling in the city’s legislature and likely bump off minor political parties, said pro-establishment lawmakers.
Although the National People’s Congress in Beijing concluded discussions about the election shake-up proposal on Wednesday, none of the details has been officially confirmed. The bill will be put to a vote in the rubber-stamp parliament on Thursday.
The proposal reportedly reduces the number of seats for Hong Kong’s directly elected geographical constituencies from 35 to 20, and the NPC will likely add a new constituency to the Legislative Council that comprises members of the Election Committee — the body currently responsible for choosing the city’s leader.
Also being reported is the possibility of changing the proportional representation system that Hong Kong currently uses to a “double seat, single vote” system where each constituency produces two candidates to limit the number of seats the pro-democracy bloc can take up in the geographical constituencies.
After the number of directly elected seats is reduced, it will be harder for the Hong Kong government to take hold of public opinion, Regina Ip, a pro-Beijing lawmaker and member of Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s cabinet, said in a Wednesday radio program.
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Ip added that it was difficult to predict how changing the voting system would impact the New People’s Party, of which she is the chair.
Since the shake-up involved many local laws, it would be impossible to resume the already postponed legislative election this September, Ip added.
Minor parties may find it hard to get into LegCo following the reduction of directly elected seats and the adoption of the new voting system, lawmaker Felix Chung of the pro-business Liberal Party said.
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The overhaul, however, would not dilute the business sector’s influence in LegCo, Chung said. And although not ideal for Hong Kong’s democratic development, it would be beneficial to the city in the long run, he added.
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