Li Jiachao was elected as the chief executive in May this year with 99% of the votes. It has been nearly four months since then. It is reported that the Electoral Management Committee has submitted a report on the election of the chief executive to the government, setting out election arrangements, supervision and follow-up work.
It is understood that the Executive Council also circulated relevant reports, and some members of the guild proposed that, in response to the ongoing epidemic, the Penny's Bay polling station could be regularized to allow those under quarantine to vote.
Penny's Bay special polling station for the quarantined election committee to vote
According to the Electoral Affairs Commission Ordinance, the EAC is required to report to the Chief Executive on such matters within 3 months after the close of the election, or such longer period as the Chief Executive may allow in any particular case.
The 2022 chief executive election will be held on May 8 this year. It is reported that the EAC has submitted a report to the government earlier, setting out election arrangements and suggestions for improvement.
In the first chief executive election after the restructuring, only Li Jiachao ran for the election, and the nomination, election, voting and counting processes were unprecedentedly smooth.
In response to the epidemic, the Registration and Electoral Office set up polling stations at the Penny's Bay Community Isolation Facility to allow election committees who were unable to go to the main polling station due to local isolation or quarantine measures to vote. In the end, 6 electoral committees applied to vote at Penny's Bay. Among them, Pan Peiqiu, the election committee member of the Federation of Trade Unions, arrived in Hong Kong from Canada that morning and successfully went to Penny's Bay to vote.
Wu Qiubei: Need to balance epidemic prevention and voting rights
According to the members of the news guild who have previewed the report, some people think that the new crown epidemic continues, and they may consider setting up polling stations in Penny's Bay or the border to facilitate voters to vote.
In the Legislative Council election in December last year, the government set up polling stations at three border crossings including Luohu and Heung Yuen Wai for the first time. About 22,000 people registered and about 17,000 people turned up to vote. There was no such arrangement in the chief executive election.
Guild member and trade union Wu Qiubei said that he could not disclose the content of the meeting, but mentioned that it is very difficult to hold elections under the epidemic, and it is necessary to strike a balance between epidemic prevention and public convenience. It is also a good choice to let the quarantined people exercise their civic responsibilities and rights, and to continue to set up border polling stations.
Former EAC chairman Feng Hua (centre) expired in mid-August.
(file picture)
Tang Jiahua: I don't want the border ticket station to be permanent
Some politicians pointed out that the report on the election of the chief executive is Feng Hua's last report as the chairman of the EAC.
At present, the EAC has to handle at least two elections, including the Rural Representative Election to be held early next year and the Legislative Council Election Committee by-election, but the government has not announced when they will be held.
Wu Qiubei said that the Legislative Council Election Committee has fewer voters, and the arrangement of polling stations needs to be determined according to the situation, such as evaluating how many electors are in other places.
Another guild member, Tang Jiahua, said that of course, he did not want to establish Penny's Bay or border ticket stations, otherwise the epidemic would continue.
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