ElectionGudie

Dec. 19, 2021 Postponed

Hong Kong

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Election for Hong Kong Legislative Council

More Info:

At Stake in this Election:        

  • 90 seats in the Seventh Legislative Council of Hong Kong  

Government Structure: 

  • Chief of State: President of the People’s Republic of China XI Jinping (since 14 March 2013) 
  • Head of Government: Chief Executive Carrie LAM (since 1 July 2017) 
  • Assembly: The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (LegCo) is a unicameral legislative chamber comprised of 90 seats. 

Electoral System: * 

  • The Chief Executive of Hong Kong is determined in a secret ballot by the 1,500-member Election Committee, comprised of five 300-member sectors representing a broad array of interest groups and organizations from across Hong Kongese society.** [1] 
  • The Legislative Council of Hong Kong is a unicameral institution composed of 90 members who serve for four-year terms. Of these members, 40 are elected by the Election Committee, 30 are elected within functional constituencies, while the remaining 20 are determined within geographical constituencies, or by direct vote. [2] The “double seats and single vote” system operates within geographical constituencies; each elector votes for a single candidate and the two candidates receiving the most votes win seats.*** [3] 

*On 11 March 2021, the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China unanimously passed a resolution calling for reforms to Hong Kongese electoral procedure. The ruling called for the establishment of a review committee responsible for vetting all candidates’ qualifications and “patriotism,” broadly understood as loyalty to the Communist Party in Beijing. The National People’s Congress Standing Committee promulgated further revisions to the electoral process by amending Annex I and Annex II of the Basic Law of Hong Kong, thereby changing the size and composition of the Legislative Council and the Election Committee. [4]

**The Election Committee – which is responsible for naming the Chief Executive – was expanded from 1,200 to 1,500 seats, while 117 seats which had formerly been reserved for district councillors were eliminated. District councils were predominantly led by pro-democracy politicians following 2019 local elections. [5]

***The Legislative Council was expanded from 70 to 90 seats. The number of seats reserved for directly elected officials was reduced from 35 – previously half of all members – to 20, while the five seats elected by district councillors were eliminated. [6]

Last Election: 

  • Elections for the Sixth Legislative Council of Hong Kong were held on 4 September 2016. 

Main Parties in this Election:*  

Pro-Beijing Camp: 

Non-Establishment 

  • Party: Path of Democracy 
    • Leader: Ronny TONG 
    • Seats won in last election: 0 
  • Party: Third Side 
    • Leader: Tik CHI-YUEN 
    • Seats won in last election: 0 

*Hong Kong’s pro-democracy parties fielded no candidates ahead of the election in protest against the March 2021 electoral reforms. [7]  

Population and Registered Voters: 

  • Population: 7,588,668 (2021 est.) [8]
  • Registered Voters: 4,472,863 (2021) [9] 

Gender Data: 

  • Female Population: 3,995,929 (2021 est.) [10] 
  • Is Hong Kong a signatory to CEDAW: While Hong Kong had been observing CEDAW since 14 October 1996 [11], the Secretary General of the United Nations received notice from Beijing on 10 June 1997 that the “Convention with the reservation made by China will also apply to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.” China signed CEDAW on 17 July 1980. [12]
  • Has Hong Kong ratified CEDAW: While Hong Kong had been observing CEDAW since 14 October 1996 [13], the Secretary General of the United Nations received notice from Beijing on 10 June 1997 that the “Convention with the reservation made by China will also apply to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.” China ratified CEDAW on 4 November 1980. [14]
  • Gender Quota: No 
  • Female candidates in this election: N/A 
  • Number of Female Legislators: 12 out of 70 [15]
  • Human Development Index (HDI) Position: Rank 4 at 0.949 (2020) [16]
  • Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Low [17]

Disability Data: 

  • Is Hong Kong a signatory to CRPD: China signed CPRD on 30 March 2007. [18]
  • Has Hong Kong ratified CRPD: China ratified CPRD on 1 August 2008, with the convention entering into force – including in Hong Kong – on 31 August 2008. [19]
  • Population with a disability: 1,071,16620 (2021 est.) [20]

 

[1] https://www.thestandard.com.hk/sections-news-print/228890/Who's-in-and-out-on-new-look-committee-picking-HK-leader

[2] https://www.legco.gov.hk/general/english/intro/about_lc.htm

[3] https://www.eac.hk/pdf/legco/2021lc_guide/en/chapter_2.pdf

[4] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-parliament-hongkong/chinas-parliament-moves-to-overhaul-hong-kongs-electoral-system-idUSKBN2B30RCv 

[5] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-30/china-to-form-small-group-to-vet-hong-kong-elections-scmp-says

[6] https://www.npr.org/2021/12/18/1065458877/the-events-that-led-to-hong-kongs-pivotal-elections

[7] https://www.nbcnews.com/news/china/hong-kong-goes-polls-after-china-purge-pro-democracy-voices-n1286270

[8] https://countrymeters.info/en/Hong_Kong

[9] https://www.voterregistration.gov.hk/eng/statistic20211.html#1

[10] https://countrymeters.info/en/Hong_Kong

[11] https://www.lwb.gov.hk/CEDAW/eng/backgroundPage.htm

[12] https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=IND&mtdsg_no=IV-8&chapter=4&clang=_en#13

[13] https://www.lwb.gov.hk/CEDAW/eng/backgroundPage.htm

[14] https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=IND&mtdsg_no=IV-8&chapter=4&clang=_en#13

[15] https://twfhk.org/blog/women%E2%80%99s-representation-legco

[16] http://hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/HKG

[17] https://www.genderindex.org/country-profiles/

[18] https://www.lwb.gov.hk/en/highlights/UNCRPD/index.html#:~:text=The-,United%20Nations%20Convention%20on%20the%20Rights%20of%20Persons%20with%20Disabilities%20(PDF%20format),-has%20entered%20into

[19] https://www.lwb.gov.hk/en/highlights/UNCRPD/index.html#:~:text=The-,United%20Nations%20Convention%20on%20the%20Rights%20of%20Persons%20with%20Disabilities%20(PDF%20format),-has%20entered%20into

[20] http://www.electionaccess.org/en/resources/countries/hk/all/