Elections in Hong Kong take place when certain political offices in the government need to be filled. Hong Kong has a
multi-party system
In political science, a multi-party system is a political system where more than two meaningfully-distinct political parties regularly run for office and win elections. Multi-party systems tend to be more common in countries using proportional ...
, with numerous
parties
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...
in the
Legislative Council
A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...
. The
Chief Executive of Hong Kong
The chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and head of the Government of Hong Kong.
The position was created to replace the office of Governor of ...
is
nonpartisan but can work with several parties to form a
coalition government
A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...
.
Every four years, ninety representatives are chosen to sit on the
unicameral
Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...
Legislative Council of Hong Kong
The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, colloquially known as LegCo, is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Hong Kong. It sits under People's Republic of China, China's "one country, two systems" c ...
(LegCo). Twenty seats representing the
geographical constituencies are returned by popular vote, thirty seats representing the
functional constituencies are elected through smaller closed elections within business sectors, and the remaining forty seats representing the
Election Committee constituency are chosen by members of the
Election Committee
The Election Committee is the electoral college in Hong Kong that selects the Chief Executive (CE) and, since 2021, elects 40 of the 90 members of the Legislative Council. Established by Annex I of the Basic Law of Hong Kong which states ...
. The
Chief Executive of Hong Kong
The chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and head of the Government of Hong Kong.
The position was created to replace the office of Governor of ...
is returned by the 1,500-member
Election Committee
The Election Committee is the electoral college in Hong Kong that selects the Chief Executive (CE) and, since 2021, elects 40 of the 90 members of the Legislative Council. Established by Annex I of the Basic Law of Hong Kong which states ...
on five-year intervals.
Local elections are held on four-year intervals to return members of
District Councils.
Following the
2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, and the landslide victory of
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
's
pro-democracy camp
The pro-democracy camp, also known as the pan-democracy camp, is a political alignment in Hong Kong that supports increased democracy, namely the universal suffrage of the Chief Executive and the Legislative Council as given by the Basic La ...
in the
2019 Hong Kong local elections
The 2019 Hong Kong District Council elections were held on 24 November 2019 for all 18 District Councils of Hong Kong. 452 seats from all directly elected constituencies, out of the 479 seats in total, were contested. Nearly three million people ...
, the
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC), the national legislature of the People's Republic of China. It exercises the powers of the NPC when it is not in s ...
of the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
unilaterally passed the
Hong Kong national security law and
changes to Annex I and Annex II of the
Hong Kong Basic Law
The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China is a national law of China that serves as the organic law for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). With nine chapters, 160 article ...
. Candidates are subject to an official eligibility review mechanism, curtailing the influence of the public's vote on the outcome.
History
Elections for unofficial members of the
Urban Council
The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon). These services were provided by the council's executive arm, the Urban Services ...
were held since 1888. Suffrage was restricted to residents on the special and common jury lists between 1888 and 1973. In 1973, the electoral franchise for the
Urban Council
The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon). These services were provided by the council's executive arm, the Urban Services ...
was widened to residents above 21 years of age who have lived in Hong Kong for at least three years that qualified in at least one of 23 specified categories, which included educational qualifications (School Certificate Examination or equivalent), being a juror, salaried taxpayer, or a member of certain professional organisations as listed in Schedule 1 of the Urban Council Ordinance (Cap. 101, ''Laws of Hong Kong''). Half of the members of the Urban Council were elected, but by a minority of the population. It was estimated that in 1970 there were 250,000 eligible voters and in 1981 the number had increased to 400,000 – 500,000. Prominent elected Urban Councilors included
Elsie Tu
Elsie Tu (; ; 2 June 1913 – 8 December 2015), known as Elsie Elliott in her earlier life, was a British-born Hong Kong social activist, elected member of the Urban Council of Hong Kong from 1963 to 1995, and member of the Legislative Counci ...
and
Brook Bernacchi
Brook Antony Bernacchi (; 22 January 1922 – 22 September 1996) was a lawyer and politician in Hong Kong. He was the long-time chairman of the Reform Club of Hong Kong, the then quasi-opposition party in the colony and the longest serving ele ...
of the
Reform Club
The Reform Club is a private members' club, owned and controlled by its members, on the south side of Pall Mall, London, Pall Mall in central London, England. As with all of London's original gentlemen's clubs, it had an all-male membership for ...
.
Expansion of elected offices
The ''Green Paper: A Pattern of District Administration in Hong Kong'' was published on 6 June 1980 for public consultations on reforming local administration in Hong Kong. The Green Paper recommended that elections by popular vote be introduced to return some members of the newly established
District Boards and unofficial members of the Urban Council. The
''White Paper: District Administration in Hong Kong'' of January 1981 further cemented the government's will to introduce elections by popular vote. Proposals in the White Paper were implemented between 1982 and 1983, during which elections to the
District Boards and
Urban Council
The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon). These services were provided by the council's executive arm, the Urban Services ...
were held.
Months before the
Sino-British Joint Declaration
The Sino-British Joint Declaration was a treaty between the governments of the United Kingdom and People's Republic of China signed in 1984 setting the conditions in which Hong Kong was transferred to Chinese control and for the governance o ...
was signed which the United Kingdom and the People's Republic of China governments agreed on handing over Hong Kong from British to Chinese rule in 1997, the ''Green Paper: the Further Development of Representative Government in Hong Kong'' was published in July 1984. The Green Paper cemented first large-scale constitutional reform in developing a representative government during the British rule. The Green Paper suggested the introduction of
indirect election
An indirect election or ''hierarchical voting,'' is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office ( direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the o ...
in two stages in 1985 and 1988 to the
unofficial member
Unofficial Member is the name given to individuals who are members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong and Legislative Council of Hong Kong but who are not members of the Hong Kong Government. The terms "Unofficial" (or "non-official") and ...
s of the
Legislative Council of Hong Kong
The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, colloquially known as LegCo, is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Hong Kong. It sits under People's Republic of China, China's "one country, two systems" c ...
(LegCo) by an
electoral college
An electoral college is a body whose task is to elect a candidate to a particular office. It is mostly used in the political context for a constitutional body that appoints the head of state or government, and sometimes the upper parliament ...
consisting of Members of the
Urban Council of Hong Kong, the new
Regional Council to be established in 1986, and
District Boards and functional groups or
functional constituencies. The
first Legislative Council elections, electing 24 unofficial members of LegCo, was held in September 1985.
Popular elections to the legislature
Consultations on electoral reform followed the
1985 electoral reform. In the ''White Paper: the Further Development of Representative Government in Hong Kong'' of 1984, the idea of direct election was suggested to be reviewed in the development of representative government in 1987.
In May 1987, the government published the 1987
''Green Paper: Review of Developments in Representative Government'' to consider the next stage of development of representative government. Despite strong public opinion in the consultations supporting the introduction of direct elections, the Government concluded that no clear consensus on the timing or the extent of the introduction of direct elections emerged. The subsequent ''White Paper: the Development of Representative Government: The Way Forward'' delayed the first direct elections to the
Legislative Council
A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...
from 1988 to the
1991 elections. A total of 18 members were returned from
geographical constituencies by popular vote, out of a total of 60 LegCo members.
As
Chris Patten
Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes (; born 12 May 1944), is a British politician who was the Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1992, and the 28th and last Governor of Hong Kong from 1992 to 1997. He was made a lif ...
succeeded
David Wilson as the last
Governor of Hong Kong
The governor of Hong Kong was the representative of the United Kingdom, British The Crown, Crown in British Hong Kong, Hong Kong from 1843 to 1997. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council of Hong Kong, Executiv ...
,
extensive electoral reform proposals were announced in Patten's inaugural Policy Address. The minimum voting age was lowered from 21 to 18, and all appointed seats on the Urban Council, Regional Council and District Boards were to be abolished by 1995.
Single-member constituencies
A single-member district or constituency is an electoral district represented by a single officeholder. It contrasts with a Multiwinner voting, multi-member district, which is represented by multiple officeholders.
In some countries, such as ...
were to be introduced to geographical constituencies of the Legislative Council, elected seats of the Urban Council, elected seats of the Regional Council and elected seats of District Boards.
Patten significantly broadened the electoral franchise to the
first fully-elected Legislative Council returned in 1995, the composition of which conformed with
Basic Law provisions on the composition of the
1st Legislative Council of Hong Kong SAR. Patten lobbied the Legislative Council (Electoral Provisions) (Amendment) Bill 1994 which broadened the franchise of certain existing functional constituencies by replacing corporate voting with individual voting. Nine new functional constituency seats were established, allowing about 2.7 million people to have the right to vote in functional constituencies. An Election Committee composed of district board members returned ten members to the Legislative Council.
In response to Patten's reforms, Beijing cancelled the "through-train arrangement" allowing the last Legislative Council in the British-era to be sworn in as the
1st Legislative Council of Hong Kong SAR after the
transfer of sovereignty to China in 1997. The Preparatory Committee for the Hong Kong SAR under Chinese
National People's Congress
The National People's Congress (NPC) is the highest organ of state power of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The NPC is the only branch of government in China, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs from the Sta ...
established the
Provisional Legislative Council on 26 January 1996 that served as Hong Kong's interim legislature until July 1998.
Post-handover development
The
Provisional Legislative Council (PLC) installed by the Beijing government during the intense Sino-British confrontation over the
democratic reform
Democratization, or democratisation, is the structural government transition from an democratic transition, authoritarian government to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction ...
decided on the electoral system of the post-handover Legislative Council. For geographical constituencies,
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...
using the
largest remainder method Party-list proportional representation
Apportionment methods
The quota or divide-and-rank methods make up a category of apportionment rules, i.e. algorithms for allocating seats in a legislative body among multiple groups (e.g. parties or f ...
with
Hare quota
The Hare quota (sometimes called the simple, ideal, or Hamilton quota) is the number of voters represented by each legislator in an idealized system of proportional representation where every vote is used to elect someone. The Hare quota is eq ...
was adopted by the SAR government in replacement of the
first-past-the-post
First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...
system introduced in 1995. The system designed to reward the weaker
pro-Beijing candidates and dilute the electoral strength of the majority democrats. For functional constituencies, corporate voting was restored after it was abolished in 1995. It reduced the number of eligible voters by almost 90 per cent, from over 1.1 million in 1995 to fewer than 140,000 in 1998. The elected
Urban Council
The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon). These services were provided by the council's executive arm, the Urban Services ...
and
Regional Council were also abolished by
Tung Chee-hwa's government.
The
first legislative election in the HKSAR was held in 1998, with 20 members returned by
geographical constituencies through direct elections, 10 members returned by the 800-member
Election Committee
The Election Committee is the electoral college in Hong Kong that selects the Chief Executive (CE) and, since 2021, elects 40 of the 90 members of the Legislative Council. Established by Annex I of the Basic Law of Hong Kong which states ...
and 30 members returned by
functional constituencies (FC). The number of LegCo members returned from
geographical constituencies (GC) increased from 20 to 24 in
2000
2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year.
Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
and to 30 in
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
, constituting half of the legislature. Seats returned by
Election Committee
The Election Committee is the electoral college in Hong Kong that selects the Chief Executive (CE) and, since 2021, elects 40 of the 90 members of the Legislative Council. Established by Annex I of the Basic Law of Hong Kong which states ...
were abolished by 2004.
The first Chief Executive election after the
transfer of sovereignty was held in
2002
The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
. Incumbent
Tung Chee-hwa
Tung Chee-hwa (; born May 29, 1937) is a Hong Kong businessman and retired politician who served as the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong between 1997 and 2005, upon the transfer of sovereignty on 1 July. He served as a vice chairman of th ...
was elected uncontested. Subsequent Chief Executives were returned by the
Election Committee
The Election Committee is the electoral college in Hong Kong that selects the Chief Executive (CE) and, since 2021, elects 40 of the 90 members of the Legislative Council. Established by Annex I of the Basic Law of Hong Kong which states ...
, members of which were elected by members of specified associations or professions.
Demand for universal suffrage
Before the
2021 Hong Kong electoral changes, the
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a Special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the List of ...
had the power to initiate amendments of Annexes I and II of the
Basic Law to change its electoral system. From late 2003 on, the Government and the public had been drawing out plans of democratisation to realise the ultimate aim of electing a chief executive by universal suffrage after nomination by an ad hoc committee (Basic Law, Art. 45) and electing the whole Legislative Council by universal suffrage (Basic Law, Art. 68). On 6 April 2004, the
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC), the national legislature of the People's Republic of China. It exercises the powers of the NPC when it is not in s ...
(NPCSC) issued its second interpretation on the
Basic Law, indicating that electoral reforms are possible in 2007 and stipulating the “five steps” of initiating political reform under Annex I of the Basic Law. On 26 April 2004, the NPCSC further passed a decision that negated universal suffrage for CE elections in 2007 and LegCo elections in 2008, but provided for electoral reforms withstanding a 50:50 ratio between GC and FC seats. The Legislative Council vetoed the Motions put by the HKSAR Government to the LegCo concerning
amendment to the methods for selecting the CE in 2007 and for forming LegCo.
In late 2007, the
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC), the national legislature of the People's Republic of China. It exercises the powers of the NPC when it is not in s ...
(NPCSC) decided that the universal suffrage for the
Chief Executive
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization.
CEOs find roles in variou ...
can be achieved in 2017 or later, and universal suffrage for the Legislative Council can be achieved after the former has been. The NPCSC decision also provided for electoral reforms in 2012 withstanding a 50:50 ratio between GC and FC seats. The Legislative Council approved of the
Motions concerning the amendment to the methods for selecting the CE and for forming LegCo in 2012.
Amidst the
2014–2015 Hong Kong electoral reform on universal suffrage in 2017, the NPCSC has outlined a screening mechanism of Chief Executive candidates, in which Chief Executive candidates must first receive nominations by an absolute majority of a Nominating Committee before proceeding to popular vote. The
Hong Kong Government's bill for universal suffrage in Chief Executive elections was subsequently rejected.
With the
NPCSC's amendment of Annexes I and II of the Basic Law in 2021, the NPCSC has retracted the power of the HKSAR to initiate political reform. The Chinese NPCSC now exercises the sole power to amend Annexes I and II of the Basic Law. In lieu of recent efforts by China to hamper the pro-democracy camp, universal suffrage remains unlikely.
The evolution of elected offices in Hong Kong returned by popular vote is as follows:
Voter registration and nomination
Any
Hong Kong permanent resident aged 18 or above may register as an elector in the
geographical constituency
In Hong Kong, geographical constituencies, as opposed to Functional constituency (Hong Kong), functional constituencies, are elected by all eligible voters according to geographically demarcated constituency, constituencies. There are currently 5 ...
in which they reside, except those mentally incapacitated and those serving in an armed force. Persons serving a sentence of imprisonment used to be barred from registering and voting, but a 2008 judgment by the Court of First Instance of the High Court ruled that a blanket bar was unconstitutional and that the Government had a year to change the offending provisions. The Government did not appeal the judgment, and held consultations with the public on how the law should be changed. A bill was then introduced to the LegCo, providing that no person would be barred from electoral registration or voting because of criminal conviction, even for
crimes against the electoral system. It became law and entered into force on 30 October 2009.
Hong Kong permanent residents must satisfy all the following requirements to be eligible for registration as electors in a geographical constituency:
* permanent resident of Hong Kong;
* aged 18 years or above as at 25 July next following his application for registration (or 25 September in a District Council election year)
* ordinarily resident in Hong Kong, and the residential address in his application for registration is his only or principal residence in Hong Kong;
* holds a
Hong Kong identity document or has applied for a new identity card; and
* not disqualified by application of s.31 of the Legislative Council Ordinance (Cap 542).
Electors can run for elections if they have reached 21 years of age and have ordinary resided in Hong Kong for the 3 years immediately preceding the nomination. In addition, candidates running for the Chief Executive and the Legislative Council, except
12 specified functional constituencies have to be a
Chinese citizen with no right of abode in any country other than the People's Republic of China.
Candidate eligibility review
Under the
2021 Hong Kong electoral changes initiated by the
National People's Congress
The National People's Congress (NPC) is the highest organ of state power of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The NPC is the only branch of government in China, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs from the Sta ...
, nominees for elections are screened so as to ensure the "administration of Hong Kong by Hong Kong people with patriots as the main body". A Candidate Eligibility Review mechanism is established to review and confirm of eligibility of candidates for the
Election Committee
The Election Committee is the electoral college in Hong Kong that selects the Chief Executive (CE) and, since 2021, elects 40 of the 90 members of the Legislative Council. Established by Annex I of the Basic Law of Hong Kong which states ...
, Chief Executive and Legislative Council elections:
* Review by the department for safeguarding national security of the
Hong Kong Police Force
The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) is the primary law enforcement, investigative agency, and largest Hong Kong Disciplined Services, disciplined service under the Security Bureau (Hong Kong), Security Bureau of Hong Kong.
Pursuant to the one c ...
on whether a candidate meets the legal requirements and conditions of upholding the
Basic Law and swearing allegiance to HKSAR of
PRC;
* the
Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the HKSAR issues opinion in respect of a candidate who fails to meet such legal requirements and conditions on the basis of the police review; and
* Review and Confirmation of eligibility of candidates by the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee of the HKSAR.
In practice, every candidate approved to run for election to the Legislative Council is either a member of the
pro-Beijing camp
The pro-Beijing camp, pro-establishment camp or pro-China camp is a political alignment in Hong Kong which generally supports the policies of the Government of the People's Republic of China, Beijing central government and the Chinese Commun ...
or has otherwise been deemed "patriotic" enough by the government of China to participate. Since the 2021 reforms, numerous pro-democracy activists who had attempted to run in elections
were arrested.
Chief Executive elections
The Election Committee is responsible for nomination of Chief Executive candidates and election of the Chief Executive-elect. Under the
2021 Hong Kong electoral changes initiated by the
National People's Congress
The National People's Congress (NPC) is the highest organ of state power of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The NPC is the only branch of government in China, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs from the Sta ...
, each candidate running for Chief Executive elections is to be nominated by at least 188 members of the
Election Committee
The Election Committee is the electoral college in Hong Kong that selects the Chief Executive (CE) and, since 2021, elects 40 of the 90 members of the Legislative Council. Established by Annex I of the Basic Law of Hong Kong which states ...
, before their eligibility is reviewed and confirmed by the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee of the HKSAR according to opinions issued by the
. The Chief Executive-designate is then returned by the Election Committee with an absolute majority.
Election Committee
The specific method for selecting the Chief Executive is prescribed in Annex I of the Basic Law. The
Election Committee
The Election Committee is the electoral college in Hong Kong that selects the Chief Executive (CE) and, since 2021, elects 40 of the 90 members of the Legislative Council. Established by Annex I of the Basic Law of Hong Kong which states ...
shall be composed of 1500 members from the following sectors pursuant to the amended Annex I under the
2021 Hong Kong electoral changes initiated by the
National People's Congress
The National People's Congress (NPC) is the highest organ of state power of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The NPC is the only branch of government in China, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs from the Sta ...
from the following sectors pursuant to the amended Annex I under the
2021 Hong Kong electoral changes initiated by the
National People's Congress
The National People's Congress (NPC) is the highest organ of state power of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The NPC is the only branch of government in China, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs from the Sta ...
. The Election Committee consists of individuals (i.e. private citizens) and representatives of bodies (i.e. special interest groups or corporate bodies) selected or elected by 40 prescribed sub-sectors as stipulated in Annex I to the
Basic Law:
The Election Committee is now principally elected by body votes. The number of subsectors with individual votes were significantly reduced, together with elimination of mixed individual and body voting:
* Half of seats (150 seats) in Sector III are nominated by members of national professional organisations or filled by ex officio members;
* District Council subsectors were replaced by subsectors consisting of appointed representatives of members of Area Committees, District Fight Crime Committees, and District Fire Safety Committees;
* All NPC and CPPCC sectors serve as ex officio EC members; and
* subsectors consisting of grassroot organisations, associations of Chinese Fellow Townsmen, associations of Hong Kong residents in Mainland and Hong Kong members of relevant national organisations were introduced.
Electoral system
Chief Executive candidates must receive nominations by at least 188 members of the
Election Committee
The Election Committee is the electoral college in Hong Kong that selects the Chief Executive (CE) and, since 2021, elects 40 of the 90 members of the Legislative Council. Established by Annex I of the Basic Law of Hong Kong which states ...
, with Nomination by at least 15 members of each sector of the Election Committee. Candidacy is confirmed upon review and confirmation of eligibility by the Candidate Qualification Review Committee, according to opinions issued by the
on the basis of a review by the National Security Department of the
Hong Kong Police Force
The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) is the primary law enforcement, investigative agency, and largest Hong Kong Disciplined Services, disciplined service under the Security Bureau (Hong Kong), Security Bureau of Hong Kong.
Pursuant to the one c ...
on whether a candidate meets the legal requirements and conditions of upholding the Basic Law and swearing allegiance to the HKSAR of
the People's Republic of China
''The'' is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the ...
.
The Chief Executive-designate is then returned by the Election Committee with an absolute majority in a two-round system:
The Chief Executive-designate must publicly disaffiliate with a political party within seven days of the election and must not become a member of a party during their term of office.
The Chief Executive-designate is then appointed by the
Central People's Government
The State Council of the People's Republic of China, also known as the Central People's Government, is the chief administrative authority and national cabinet. It is constitutionally the highest administrative organ of the country and the e ...
before taking office.
Article 45
Article 45 gives the requirements for choosing the Chief Executive, and Annex I does likewise in a more specific manner.
Article 46
According to
Article 46 of the
Hong Kong Basic Law
The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China is a national law of China that serves as the organic law for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). With nine chapters, 160 article ...
, elections for the Chief Executive are held every five years. A 1,500-member
electoral college
An electoral college is a body whose task is to elect a candidate to a particular office. It is mostly used in the political context for a constitutional body that appoints the head of state or government, and sometimes the upper parliament ...
called the
Election Committee
The Election Committee is the electoral college in Hong Kong that selects the Chief Executive (CE) and, since 2021, elects 40 of the 90 members of the Legislative Council. Established by Annex I of the Basic Law of Hong Kong which states ...
is elected by representations of specified associations, and some other sectors of the society, with each of the forty sectors of the society and interests of the Central Authorities receiving a set number of electoral votes. The eligible voters in each sector vote directly for the electors, who in turn cast ballots for Chief Executive.
Pursuant to the Annex II of the Basic Law, the Election Committee also selected 10 Members of the 1st LegCo by
block vote in 1998. Four of the seats were reassigned to geographical constituencies for the 2nd LegCo in 2000, and the remainder for the 3rd LegCo in 2004. As a part of the
2021 amendments to Annex II by the
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC), the national legislature of the People's Republic of China. It exercises the powers of the NPC when it is not in s ...
, the Election Committee selects 40 members of the LegCo since
2021
Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
.
The EC elections are quite irregular. They were held in 1998 and 2000, but none (except for the 2002
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections.
A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...
) have been held since. The claim in Ann. 1, Sect. 2, of the Basic Law, saying that the Election Committee must be renewed at least once every five years.
Article 46 was a subject of controversy regarding the term of the newly elected Chief Executive. The article states:
The law requires a term of five years, but
mainland officials have said the new leader filling-in can only serve until 2007. The matter was settled after a re-interpretation by the
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC).
[Williams, Mark. Competition Policy and Law in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. 005(2005). Cambridge University Press. .] Though this did damage the credibility and integrity of the
one country, two systems
"One country, two systems" is a constitutional principle of the People's Republic of China (PRC) describing the governance of the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.
Deng Xiaoping developed the one country, two systems ...
formula.
A literal interpretation would mean Tsang has to serve until 2010, but this is not common sense behaviour in most other nations; one can only complete the term of a predecessor. The
Chinese government
The government of the People's Republic of China is based on a system of people's congress within the parameters of a Unitary state, unitary communist state, in which the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) enacts its policies through people's ...
has decided that the new leader would serve until
Inauguration day in 2007.
History of electoral contests
The last uncontested election was held in 2002, and with the resignation of Tung Chee Hwa an election would have been called on 10 July, had the election been contested. A controversial decision by the
National People's Congress
The National People's Congress (NPC) is the highest organ of state power of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The NPC is the only branch of government in China, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs from the Sta ...
stated that a resignation did not end a term, so that Donald Tsang would serve only until 2007, rather than 2010 had a term been deemed to begin with each resignation. This is in line with the practice on mainland China (see
Hong Kong Basic Law Article 46). The 800-member
Election Committee
The Election Committee is the electoral college in Hong Kong that selects the Chief Executive (CE) and, since 2021, elects 40 of the 90 members of the Legislative Council. Established by Annex I of the Basic Law of Hong Kong which states ...
held a vote on a day specified by the sitting chief executive sometime during the six months of the year prior to the HKSAR's Inauguration Day, 1 July. An
absolute majority
A majority is more than half of a total; however, the term is commonly used with other meanings, as explained in the " Related terms" section below.
It is a subset of a set consisting of more than half of the set's elements. For example, if a gr ...
of the votes (i.e. 401 votes) are required to be elected. If no candidate has a majority vote, the one with the lowest vote is eliminated for the next round until a candidate has a majority vote.
In
1996
1996 was designated as:
* International Year for the Eradication of Poverty
Events January
* January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
,
Tung Chee Hwa was elected with eighty per cent of the electoral votes against two other candidates, Mr.
Peter Woo () and Sir
Ti Liang Yang (). In
12002, Tung was re-elected uncontested, as he had received 713 signatures of support in the Electoral Committee, and 100 are required for nomination.(Annex I, Section 4, Basic Law)
The
2005
2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
provided a sense of déjà vu for many, as Donald Tsang cruised to victory with 674 nomination signatures out of a possible 796 (four seats were vacant).
The EC elections are quite irregular. They were held in
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
and
2000
2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year.
Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
, but none (except for the
2002 by-election) have been held since. The claim in Ann. 1, Sect. 2, of the Basic Law, saying that the Election Committee must be renewed at least once every five years, exposed an interesting flaw in the system that was averted when Tsang was the only candidate nominated.
The problem was that the timing is crucial for the new chief executive election after Tung Chee Hwa's resignation on 12 March 2005. Since electoral law states that an election must be held 120 days after the vacancy, an election would be held on the tenth of July. It was unclear as to the exact time period separating the election and the date of taking of office for this Election Committee. If the new EC convened prior to the chief executive election, it would be applied to select the next chief executive, but otherwise the old Election Committee dating from 2000 would have to complete the task (see
2005 Hong Kong Chief Executive election for more information on the topic). The second round produces a further dispute, if the term of the old EC ended after the first round of voting but before the second. It would be rather insensible to use different electors for the two rounds; the same one would probably have to be prescribed.
The compositions of electoral colleges returning
Chief Executives
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization.
CEOs find roles in variou ...
are as follows:
Legislative elections
Under the
2021 Hong Kong electoral changes initiated by the
National People's Congress
The National People's Congress (NPC) is the highest organ of state power of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The NPC is the only branch of government in China, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs from the Sta ...
, the
Legislative Council is now composed of 90 members returned from 3 constituencies: the
Election Committee Constituency,
Functional Constituencies and
Geographical Constituencies by popular vote.
In Hong Kong,
legislative
A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers ...
elections are held every four years in accordance with
Article 69 of the Basic Law of HKSAR. The
most recent election was held on 19 December 2021.
Electoral system
Each candidate running for Legislative elections is to be nominated by 10–20 members of the
Election Committee
The Election Committee is the electoral college in Hong Kong that selects the Chief Executive (CE) and, since 2021, elects 40 of the 90 members of the Legislative Council. Established by Annex I of the Basic Law of Hong Kong which states ...
, before their eligibility is reviewed and confirmed by the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee of the HKSAR according to opinions issued by the
:
Geographical Constituencies
20 seats of the Legislative Council are returned by geographical constituencies (GC) through
single non-transferable vote
Single non-transferable vote or SNTV is a multi-winner electoral system in which each voter casts a single vote. Being a semi-proportional variant of first-past-the-post voting, under SNTV small parties, as well as large parties, have a chance t ...
with a district magnitude of 2 ("binomial system"). The binomial system was instituted by the
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC), the national legislature of the People's Republic of China. It exercises the powers of the NPC when it is not in s ...
in its amendment to Annex 2 of the
Basic Law on 30 March 2021.
Geographical constituencies were first introduced in Hong Kong's first legislative election with direct elections in
1991
It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...
. The electoral system and boundaries of GCs have since changed:
Functional Constituencies
Under the
2021 Hong Kong electoral changes, 28 functional constituencies (FC) return 30 members. The
Labour Functional Constituency returns three members by
plurality block voting
Plurality block voting is a type of block voting method for multi-winner elections. Each voter may cast as many votes as the number of seats to be filled. The candidates with the most votes are elected. The usual result when the candidates div ...
. The other FCs return one member each with
first-past-the-post voting
First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or first-preference, and the candidate with more first- ...
.
The 2021 electoral reform saw the dissolution of
District Council (First) and
District Council (Second)
The District Council (Second) functional constituency () was a functional constituency in the elections for the Legislative Council of Hong Kong which was created in the 2012 constitutional reform package. It was the largest functional constitu ...
FCs. 3 existing FCs were reconstituted: the Information Technology FC reorganised as the
Technology & Innovation FC; the Medical FC and Health Services FC combined to form the Medical and Health Services FC. 2 new FCs were established, namely the
Commercial (Third) and the HKSAR Deputies to the National People's Congress, HKSAR Members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and Representatives of Relevant National Organisations (constituency), HKSAR Deputies to the National People's Congress, HKSAR Members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and Representatives of Relevant National Organisations FCs. Functional constituencies are now principally elected by body votes; the number of FCs with individual votes were reduced, together with elimination of mixed individual and body voting systems.
Election Committee Constituency
The Election Committee constituency was one of the three constituencies designed in the
Basic Law of Hong Kong
The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China is a national law of China that serves as the organic law for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). With nine chapters, 160 article ...
next to the directly elected
geographical constituencies and the indirectly elected
functional constituencies for the first and second-term Legislative Council fin the early SAR period. With the last
British Governor Chris Patten
Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes (; born 12 May 1944), is a British politician who was the Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1992, and the 28th and last Governor of Hong Kong from 1992 to 1997. He was made a lif ...
's
electoral reform
Electoral reform is a change in electoral systems that alters how public desires, usually expressed by cast votes, produce election results.
Description
Reforms can include changes to:
* Voting systems, such as adoption of proportional represen ...
, the ECC was composed of all elected
District Board members who had been
elected in 1994. The
Single Transferable Vote
The single transferable vote (STV) or proportional-ranked choice voting (P-RCV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which each voter casts a single vote in the form of a ranked ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vot ...
system was used in the
1995 election.
After the
handover of Hong Kong
The handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China was at midnight on 1 July 1997. This event ended 156 years of British rule in the former colony, which began in 1841.
Hong Kong was established as a specia ...
, the ECC was allocated 10 seats out of the total 60 seats in the SAR Legislative Council, comprising all members of the
Election Committee
The Election Committee is the electoral college in Hong Kong that selects the Chief Executive (CE) and, since 2021, elects 40 of the 90 members of the Legislative Council. Established by Annex I of the Basic Law of Hong Kong which states ...
which also elected the
Chief Executive
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization.
CEOs find roles in variou ...
every five years. The size of the constituency reduced to six seats in 2000 and was entirely abolished and replaced by the directly elected geographical constituency seats in the
2004 election. The
plurality-at-large voting
Plurality block voting is a type of block voting method for multi-winner elections. Each voter may cast as many votes as the number of seats to be filled. The candidates with the most votes are elected. The usual result when the candidates div ...
system was used in 1998 and 2000.
In the 2021 electoral overhaul, the Election Committee constituency was reintroduced, taking 40 of the 90 seats, almost half, of the Legislative Council with plurality-at-large voting system. The electorate is composed of all newly expanded 1,500 members in the Election Committee.
2010 electoral reform
The Legislative Council passed the Government's bill on amending Annex II of the
Basic Law. The total number of Legislative Council members is increased from 60 to 70. Alongside the creation of five new geographical constituency seats,
[ five new functional constituency seats were created in the District Council (Second) FC. The 5 new FC seats were returned by direct elections through ]proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...
using the largest remainder method Party-list proportional representation
Apportionment methods
The quota or divide-and-rank methods make up a category of apportionment rules, i.e. algorithms for allocating seats in a legislative body among multiple groups (e.g. parties or f ...
with Hare quota
The Hare quota (sometimes called the simple, ideal, or Hamilton quota) is the number of voters represented by each legislator in an idealized system of proportional representation where every vote is used to elect someone. The Hare quota is eq ...
.[Cheung, Gary (22 Jun 2010) "Beijing's U-turn 'to thwart radicals'", ''South China Morning Post'']
The 2010 electoral reform provides for parallel voting
In political science, parallel voting or superposition refers to the use of two or more Electoral system, electoral systems to elect different members of a legislature. More precisely, an electoral system is a superposition if it is a mixture o ...
, in which each registered voter can participate in the elections of one geographical constituency and one functional constituency.
The District Council (Second) FC was abolished by the National People's Congress
The National People's Congress (NPC) is the highest organ of state power of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The NPC is the only branch of government in China, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs from the Sta ...
under the 2021 Hong Kong electoral changes.
2012 by-election procedure amendment proposal
In mid-May 2011, the government, which considered the resignations leading to "de facto referendum" ( 2010 Hong Kong by-election) 'abusive' and a waste of resources, revealed its plan to do away with by-elections entirely. Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Stephen Lam proposed that a Legislative Council seat in any geographical constituency or one of the newly created five-seat district council 'superconstituency' vacated by the resignation or death of a legislator would be filled by a 'leapfrog' mechanism by the next best placed candidate at the previous election. The plan attracted criticism from Pan-Democrats; even its allies in the legislature expressed reservations about the workability of the plan. The Bar Association severely criticised the plan, expressing concern over the constitutionality of the proposals, particularly the reasonableness on restrictions on the right to participation.
The government tabled a bill to amend current legislation for by-elections for 13 July.[Fung, Wai-yee Fanny (1 July 2011). "Majority oppose polls-axe bid". ''South China Morning Post''] Following call by the Central Government Liaison Office to re-think, the government revised its proposal on 28 June stipulating replacement by an unsuccessful candidate on the same election ticket.[ The government bowed to pressure and announced one week later that it would suspend reading of the bill for two months, pending consultations on the revised proposals.
]
Electoral performances by party
District Council elections
There are eighteen districts, and thus eighteen District Councils in Hong Kong, each being a city council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...
for its district. There is one constituency for, on average, every 17,000 residents, as there are 452 directly-elected constituencies for 2019, and over 7.4 million residents in Hong Kong. A member is elected from each constituency by plurality vote
Plurality may refer to:
Law and politics
* Plurality decision, in a decision by a multi-member court, an opinion held by more judges than any other but not by an overall majority
* Plurality (voting), when a candidate or proposition polls more ...
. The chairpersons of the 27 rural committees are ''ex officio
An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by r ...
'' members of the councils.
In 2023, the district council are reformed. The total directly seat are dropped from 452 to 88, only less than 19% seat can be directly elected. A new district council eligibility review committee established to review candidate qualification.
Elections of deputies to the National People's Congress of the PRC
Article 21 of The Basic Law of HKSAR stipulates:
Chinese citizens who are residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be entitled to participate in the management of state affairs according to law. In accordance with the assigned number of seats and the selection method specified by the National People's Congress
The National People's Congress (NPC) is the highest organ of state power of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The NPC is the only branch of government in China, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs from the Sta ...
(NPC), Chinese citizens among permanent residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall locally elect deputies of the Region to the National People's Congress to participate in the work of the highest organ of state power.
The 36 Hong Kong deputies to the National People's Congress are chosen by an electoral college composed of the following as specified in the Method for Election of Deputies of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China to the Eleventh National People's Congress passed in March 2022:
* Members of the Election Committee
The Election Committee is the electoral college in Hong Kong that selects the Chief Executive (CE) and, since 2021, elects 40 of the 90 members of the Legislative Council. Established by Annex I of the Basic Law of Hong Kong which states ...
(which elects the chief executive) who are Chinese nationals, except those who opt out; and
* The Chief Executive
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization.
CEOs find roles in variou ...
of the HKSAR
A total of 1,989 electors returned Hong Kong deputies in the 2017 election.
Village Representative elections
Rural Representatives consist of Village Representatives and Kaifong Representatives.
The Court of Final Appeal ruled that the Secretary for Home Affairs
The Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs is the head of the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau of the Government of Hong Kong, which is responsible for local issues, and the provision of community and youth services.
List of office holders Regist ...
had to consider whether the person elected to represent a village was elected in accordance with electoral arrangements consistent with the Bill of Rights and the Sex Discrimination Ordinance whether to approve an elected Village Representative in December 2000. This decision caused Hong Kong Government to set up new arrangements for Village Representative. There are two types of Village Representatives, namely
* Indigenous Inhabitant Representative representing indigenous inhabitants of an Indigenous Village; and
* Resident Representative representing all residents of an Existing Village
Indigenous Inhabitant of an Indigenous Village that existed in 1898 (whether or not the name the Village now has is the same name it had in 1898) refers to:
* a person who was in 1898 a resident of the Village; or
* a person who is descended through the male line from a person mentioned above.
In 2013, the new Village Representative Election Ordinance has been implemented that the Kaifong Representatives from Cheung Chau
Cheung Chau (; ) is an outlying island of Hong Kong, located southwest of Hong Kong Island. It is also called Dumbbell Island () due to its dumbbell-like shape. It has been inhabited for longer than most other places in Hong Kong, and had ...
and Peng Chau are regulated by the Home Affairs Department
The Home Affairs Department is an executive agency in the government of Hong Kong responsible for internal affairs of the territory. It reports to the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, headed by the Secretary for Home Affairs.
Purpose
The d ...
. The first new arrangements Village Representative elections was held in 2019. The next Village Representative elections would be held in 2023.
Electoral results
;Legends
*:Pro-democracy Camp
The pro-democracy camp, also known as the pan-democracy camp, is a political alignment in Hong Kong that supports increased democracy, namely the universal suffrage of the Chief Executive and the Legislative Council as given by the Basic La ...
*:Pro-Beijing Camp
The pro-Beijing camp, pro-establishment camp or pro-China camp is a political alignment in Hong Kong which generally supports the policies of the Government of the People's Republic of China, Beijing central government and the Chinese Commun ...
*:non-aligned and others
Latest elections
2023 District Council election
2021 Legislative election
2022 Chief executive election
See also
* Electoral calendar
This national electoral calendar for 2025 lists the national/ federal elections scheduled to be held in 2025 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referenda are included. Specific d ...
(global)
* Politics of Hong Kong
* List of constituencies of Hong Kong
* 2010 Hong Kong electoral reform
The 2010 Hong Kong electoral reform was the series of events began in 2009 and finalised in 2010 under the ''Consultation Document on the Methods for Selecting the Chief Executive and for Forming the Legislative Council in 2012'', a document pub ...
* 2014–15 Hong Kong electoral reform
* 2021 Hong Kong electoral reform
* 2012 Dual Universal Suffrage (Hong Kong)
* Cargo cult
Cargo cults were diverse spiritual and political movements that arose among indigenous Melanesians following Western colonisation of the region in the late 19th century. Typically (but not universally) cargo cults included: charismatic prophet ...
Notes
References
External links
Hong Kong Government Website
Adam Carr's Election Archive
* ttp://www.ln.edu.hk/pgp/level2/pgp-data-f.htm Previous election results by Lingnan University* ttp://www.yearbook.gov.hk/2003/english/chapter01/01_05.html The Electoral System ''Hong Kong 2003 – Constitution and Administration'', Government of Hong Kong
Web Site of the Electoral Affairs Commission
{{Hong Kong topics
Politics of Hong Kong