Hong Kong sets 2-week nomination period for Legislative Council election

Hong Kong will begin its two-week nomination period for the next Legislative Council election on October 24, paving the way for the return of 90 lawmakers in only the second poll held under Beijing’s “patriots-only” electoral reform.

Gazetting the electoral arrangement on Friday, the Registration and Electoral Office said the nomination would run until November 6, and called on hopefuls to submit their forms as early as possible to allow time to correct any mistakes.

The poll on December 7 will be the second Legco election since Beijing overhauled Hong Kong’s electoral system in 2021 to ensure only “patriots” could hold political power in the city.

The overhaul followed the social unrest in 2019, when the opposition camp won a landslide victory in the district council election at the height of the protests.

Under the revamped system, the legislature has been expanded to 90 members, with only 20 directly elected from geographical constituencies. Another 30 are returned from trade-based functional constituencies, while 40 are chosen by the all-powerful Electoral Committee, which is dominated by Beijing loyalists.

Candidates for the geographical constituencies are required to secure endorsements from 100 to 200 registered electors within their constituency, as well as nominations from at least 10 Election Committee members. These nominators must include two to four members from each of the Committee’s five sectors.

Those wishing to stand for a seat in the functional constituencies must obtain nominations from 10 to 20 registered electors within their respective sectors, along with endorsements from 10 to 20 Election Committee members.