This photo dated Nov 12, 2020 shows a corner inside the Legislative Council building, Hong Kong. (CALVIN NG/CHINA DAILY)

Candidates from diverse backgrounds will bring diverse voices to Hong Kong’s legislature, and benefit the city’s long-term development and sustainable implementation of the “one country, two systems”, Hong Kong’s political heavyweights said as the city received 154 nominations for the Legislative Council election by Friday’s deadline.

There were 35 nominations from geographical constituencies, 68 from functional constituencies and 51 from the Election Committee constituency, according to the Registration and Electoral Office of the special administrative region. 

The three constituencies will select 20, 30 and 40 LegCo members respectively on Dec 19 to form the 90-seat legislature. 

Timothy Kwai Ting-kong, a member of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, said the nominations showed that the revised electoral system, including the addition of the Election Committee constituency, will open the Legislative Council to more sectors of society. 

The changes encourage people from different sectors to stand for election, Kwai said. For example, representatives of the associations of Chinese fellow townsmen and the religious groups enjoy unprecedented chances of being nominated, with the sectors listed among the 40 subsectors of the Election Committee, which is responsible for nominating Leg Co candidates. 

Timothy Kwai Ting-kong, a member of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, said the nominations showed that the revised electoral system, including the addition of the Election Committee constituency, will open the Legislative Council to more sectors of society

Candidates from different groups will bring diverse voices to the new legislature, Kwai said. 

Yip Kin-ming, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, said the nomination results foreshadowed a diverse legislature in line with the “patriots administering Hong Kong” principle, which will serve the development interests and needs of Hong Kong.

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The city’s legislature will not and cannot be limited to a “single voice”, he said, adding that the diversity not only meets the expectations of the central government, but also those of Hong Kong’s various sectors.

All nominations will be reviewed by the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee, a new gatekeeper under the reformed electoral system, which will decide whether the nominees meet the legal requirements for upholding the Basic Law and bearing allegiance to the SAR. The candidates’ eligibility will be announced no later than Nov 26, according to an earlier statement by Chief Secretary for Administration John Lee Ka-chiu, who heads the committee. 

The LegCo election will be the second major election to be held since the National People’s Congress approved improvements to the SAR’s electoral system in March, following the subsector elections of the Election Committee held on Sept 19. 

When briefing polling staff on the electoral arrangements on Friday, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai highlighted the great significance of the election, saying “efficient and humanized arrangements” are required to facilitate electors and candidates. 

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Barnabas Fung Wah, chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission, said the organizer is targeting a timely announcement of the election results with improved accuracy and efficiency. 

The Registration and Electoral Office will set up over 620 polling stations in the 10 geographical constituencies to serve more than 4.4 million electors. 

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor revealed on Tuesday that the government plans to establish polling stations at the checkpoints with the Chinese mainland, allowing electors who live on the mainland to cast their votes on SAR territory and return to the mainland without being subjected to a mandatory quarantine.

Contact the write at williamxu@chinadailyhk.com