The authorities on Monday confirmed the eligibility of all 161 candidates who have thrown their hats into the ring for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s upcoming legislative poll.
Thirty-nine election forums will be held with candidate debates in the lead-up to the poll on Dec 7.
Chief Secretary for Administration Chan Kwok-ki said at a media conference that the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee has completed the review of all 161 candidates and confirmed that they meet the fundamental requirements, namely upholding the Basic Law and pledging allegiance to the HKSAR.
Chan thanked all departments for their cooperation, and said that the procedure allows candidates to commence their electoral campaigns as soon as possible.
This election is an event related to all Hong Kong residents, Chan noted.
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To deepen public understanding of the election, the HKSAR government will run a total of 39 election forums, inviting candidates, residents, and voters to attend.
Each forum will include candidates’ self-introduction, question-and-answer sessions, and debates on specific topics. The forums aim to provide candidates with a fair, open opportunity to illustrate their election platforms, said Erick Tsang Kwok-wai, secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs.
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Of the 89 incumbent legislators, 54 have submitted nomination forms to seek re-election, with some running in different constituencies.
A breakdown of the nominations reveals that in the geographical constituencies, 51 candidates have put themselves forward to compete for the 20 seats available across Hong Kong's 10 districts.
Sixty candidates will compete for 30 seats in the functional constituencies, which represent various sectors.
The Election Committee constituency, which has the largest number of seats at 40, received 50 nominations.
The newly elected legislators will serve a four-year term.
Contact the writer at atlasshao@chinadailyhk.com
