Nomination of candidates for the reconstituted Election Committee closed on Aug 12. In addition to having the power to nominate and elect Hong Kong’s chief executive, the Election Committee has been given new powers to elect 40 members of the Legislative Council and nominate LegCo candidates, making it a supremely important body in the governance structure of Hong Kong.

The revamped Election Committee will have 362 ex officio members, such as members of LegCo and Hong Kong deputies to the National People’s Congress. The remaining 1,138 members will be nominated by designated bodies or elected by corporate or individual voters. Pundits in media and political circles have been analyzing closely the 1,056 nominations received to map out the political landscape that is likely to emerge after the election.

Analysts have been quick to identify two salient features — a sharp reduction in the electorate of the Election Committee and competition for seats on the committee; and a significant increase of members who are likely to be pro-China or pro-establishment.

Post-revamp of the Election Committee, the size of the electorate has dwindled from roughly 250,000 to around 7,900. As for competition, pundits note that among the 40 subsectors of the committee, two will comprise ex officio members. As regards the remaining 38 subsectors, there will be competition in only 13 of them. About 76 percent of nominees will be returned ipso facto.

A reduction in competition does not, however, equate with a deterioration of the quality of those returned under the new system. On the contrary, the new Election Committee will be much more balanced, competent, more broadly representative of their constituencies, and, above all, much more likely to ensure that patriots will govern Hong Kong.

Take the accountancy subsector as an example. In 2016, all those elected in this subsector were relatively young and anti-establishment accountants who banded together under a democracy banner. The absence of experienced practitioners from large firms with international experience and conversant with the regulatory environment of the Chinese mainland actually hampered the development of the accountancy profession. The revised system restores balance and enhances competence by reserving seats for members of the Association of Hong Kong Accounting Advisers Ltd. The association comprises senior members of the profession who had served as advisers to the Ministry of Finance.

Likewise, the Technology and Innovation subsector now embraces a far wider array of technology fields than the old information technology subsector. Members will be drawn from the 16 State key laboratories in Hong Kong and other prestigious technology organizations; or academics conversant with technology collaboration in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

In line with the increasingly important role played by mainland enterprises in Hong Kong’s economy, many of their representatives have been returned in subsectors in the industry, commerce and finance sector. The corresponding diminution of the representatives of the property developers on the Election Committee will enable the future chief executive to be less daunted by Hong Kong’s outsize property sector in formulating land production and development options — an allegation that has frequently been hurled at past chief executives.

The Election Committee also ensures that the voice of the common people will be heard, through representatives of local committees appointed by the government, and various grassroots and community bodies.

The most important function of the Election Committee is to ensure that patriots will govern Hong Kong, an overriding principle promulgated by the nation’s top leaders, and mandated by the decision of the National People’s Congress of March 11. As Hong Kong is an inseparable part of China, it is clearly in Hong Kong’s interest for its governance structures to be filled by patriots, meaning those who “respect the Chinese people, sincerely support the exercise of China’s sovereignty over Hong Kong, and will not do anything to hurt Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability” (in the words of Deng Xiaoping in 1984). The “one country, two systems” arrangement under which Hong Kong is governed cannot possibly continue if Hong Kong is governed by elected representatives opposed to China’s sovereignty or who undermine national security. Ensuring that Hong Kong is governed by patriots will best preserve Hong Kong’s separate systems and its unique culture and lifestyle.

The Election Committee is on course to fulfilling this objective. By adding a fifth sector comprising 300 members with a strong connection to the nation (Hong Kong delegates to the National People’s Congress, members of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and Hong Kong members of national bodies), and adding representatives of associations of Chinese fellow townsmen living in Hong Kong and representatives of associations of Hong Kong residents on the mainland, the Election Committee has a much stronger contingent of representatives with close ties to the mainland. Together with representatives of Chinese enterprises, and representatives of local committees appointed by the government, it is estimated that the Election Committee will have at least 900 members who are pro-China and pro-establishment, and who will be able to elect true patriots to govern Hong Kong.

As for the argument that the Election Committee lacks a direct popular mandate and legitimacy conferred by open, adversarial competition, the answer is that a political system should not be judged solely on procedural legitimacy based on Western norms, but on performance legitimacy. The litmus test is whether the new system will be able to help resolve Hong Kong’s deep-rooted problems. The prospects are bright that the Election Committee will be able to do so. With a much more balanced and knowledgeable electorate, the committee is well positioned to elect competent patriots, and confer on the future chief executive a strong mandate to govern Hong Kong.

The author is a member of the Executive Council and the Legislative Council.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.