Hong Kong’s Legco race attracts 161 contenders as nominations close

A total of 161 aspirants with a younger profile are competing for 90 seats in Hong Kong’s second “patriots-only” Legislative Council election, marking a nearly 5 per cent increase over the last poll and leaving no slot uncontested.

As the two-week nomination period of the Legislative Council election closed on Thursday, it was also confirmed that up to 35 incumbents, including Paul Tse Wai-chun, who has served in the legislature since 2008, would not run again for office – a record high proportion since the city’s return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.

The number of aspirants running for the race was seven more than the 154 recorded in the 2021 election, up by 4.5 per cent. The average age of the latest batch of hopefuls is 49.

All incumbent lawmakers above the age of 70 opted not to run in the December 7 election, paving the way for new contenders to join the race.

The city’s directly elected geographical constituencies played a big part in the increase in aspirants, with up to 51 contenders running for the 20 seats, a rise from 35 in 2021 and a jump of 45.7 per cent.

The fiercest competition is taking place in Kowloon Central as six hopefuls compete for two seats. Five aspirants are running in each of the remaining nine geographical constituencies.

The election race in the New Territories South East and the New Territories North is comprised entirely of newcomers, with no incumbent lawmakers planning to defend their seats.