The 2023 District Council election (“Election”) was held on December 10, which is the first “patriot-only” election under revamped election system with only 19% of the seats were returned by direct election.
HKCHR published a report on the Election today, documenting in detail the violations of international human rights standards in the Election. Our main observations are as follows:
- The changes to the election method and its practices are contrary to the right to vote and to be elected at genuine elections which are to be by universal and equal suffrage, as guaranteed by Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (“ICCPR”);
- Such changes violate the principle of non-retrogression of rights;
- The new requirement to obtain nomination from government-appointed members of committees allows for indirect control by the government of who gets to run;
- On and before the polling date, undue influences of electorates and obstruction of their free expression were observed, including by arresting dissidents who exercise their rights to free speech and to peaceful assembly; and by an unprecedented practice of gifting voters a card which could potentially be used to identify anyone who has or has not voted.
The spokesperson of HKCHR said today:
“Article 25 of the ICCPR, an international treaty applicable to Hong Kong, states that every citizen has the right to participate in elections free from discrimination. It is of our view that the overhauled election system 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. 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.”
Attached please see the full report: https://hkchr.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/20231221-HKCHR-DC-Report.pdf