The 2023 District Council Election is set to take place on 10 December 2023, marking the first district council election since the regressive overhaul of the electoral system. The nomination period concluded today (30 October) and the government has received a total of 400 nomination forms in which 172 forms belong to geographical constituencies. Notably, all would-be candidates from pro-democracy parties and centrist parties are not able to secure sufficient nominations and consequently, will not be participating in the election.
The Hong Kong Centre for Human Rights (“HKCHR”) expresses grave concern for and disappointment about the restrictions that the new system imposes on nominations, specifically on how it obstructs democratic candidates from standing for election.
Under the revised system, candidates seeking to stand for direct elections in geographical constituencies must now fulfil additional requirements beyond securing nominations from a minimum of 50 voters within their respective constituencies. They are required to approach District Fight Crime Committees, the District Fire Safety Committees, the Area Committees — also known as the “Three Committees,” in their respective constituency. From each of these bodies, they must secure three nominations, totalling nine, and subsequently confirm their eligibility through an eligibility review committee, before they can stand for election.
However, the government has consistently refused to provide prospective candidates with the contact information of the members of the Three Committees, citing personal privacy concerns. After being heavily criticised, the Registration and Electoral Officer (“REO”) has finally provided only the names and correspondence addresses of Three Committees members to “specified persons” (i.e. parties or organisations which had stood for election before), but remained reluctant to disclose more direct contact methods, such as telephone numbers or email addresses. The District Office has only committed to conveying basic messages to Three Committees members.
The spokesperson of HKCHR said today:
“In previous years, candidates for direct elections in geographical constituencies only needed to secure public nominations to proceed. However, the revised system compels those who wish to partake in democratic elections to proactively seek endorsements from the undemocratic Three Committee members – who are government-appointed instead of democratically elected. This setting contravenes the fundamental principles of democracy. Given that government-appointed Three Committee members are usually from the pro-establishment camp, the revised system also undermines impartiality and fairness of the election because it is unrealistic to expect pro-establishment members to fairly and objectively consider nomination requests made by pro-democracy parties. This resulted in an election that diverge from democratic values and are unjustly biased against the democratic camp.”
“Also, the government’s refusal to furnish all candidates with the contact details of all Three Committee constitutes an unjustifiable nomination barrier. Given that these committee members have the statutory function of nomination, it is only reasonable to make communication with them more accessible, so as to safeguard the fairness of the election. Without this transparency, candidates from the pro-establishment camp stand to gain an undue advantage since they are likely to have better knowledge of, or greater access to, the Three Committees members.”
“While the REO eventually provided the names and correspondence addresses of the Three Committee members to certain groups which had previously stood for election (e.g. the Democratic Party), this form of communications is neither convenient nor direct, particularly given the brief two-week nomination period. More importantly, organizations or individuals who never participated in elections before are entirely precluded from accessing even this basic information, placing them in an inequitable position and making it more difficult for them to secure sufficient nominations than others.”
“Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (“ICCPR”), an international treaty applicable to Hong Kong, states that every citizen has the right to participate in elections free from discrimination. The United Nations Human Rights Committee has underscored that a government should not unreasonably restrict an individual’s right to stand for election by requiring a candidate to be a member of a political party; and that if a candidate is required to have a minimum number of supporters for nomination, this requirement should be reasonable and not act as a barrier to. It is of our view that current nomination method for Districts Council geographical constitutes discrimination against all candidates who do not belong to the pro-establishment camp, and unreasonably restricts Hong Kong people’s right to stand for election, which is obviously a violation of the ICCPR.”
“In recent years, the government has further tightened the power and democratic procedures of the remaining District Council elections. The HKCHR urges the Hong Kong and Chinese governments to fulfil their obligations under the ICCPR. We urge the immediate abolition of the non-compliant nomination and selection mechanisms, and advocate for the full universal suffrage for the District Councils, the Legislative Council and the Chief Executive, so as to safeguard the public’s right to participate in political affairs and their basic rights.”