Hong Kong legislative election, 2004
Encyclopedia
The 2004 Hong Kong legislative election for members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong
(LegCo) was held on 12 September 2004. The elections returned 30 members from directly elected geographical constituencies and 30 members from functional constituencies
, of which 11 were unopposed.
While pro-democratic opposition candidates gained new seats in the legislature, their gains fell short of their expectations.
In the geographical constituencies, candidates from the pro-democratic camp secured 60 percent of the seats in the geographical sectors of the election, taking 18 seats (up from 17) in this category, and 62 percent of the popular vote. On the other hand, the pro-Beijing / pro-business candidates made greater gains, winning 12 directly elected seats (up from 7). Ironically, in the functional constituencies which the pro-democratic camp sought to abolish, the camp made more gains (from 5 to 7 seats).
Overall, the democrats took 25 seats and the pro-government camp 35 seats. Bills initiated by the government can still be passed on pro-government support alone, but bills originated by members cannot be passed without democratic support, since these bills require absolute majorities in each sector (geographical and functional) of the legislature. Constitutional amendments require a two-thirds vote and thereby also require support from the democratic camp.
Despite the increase in the number of seats returned by geographical constituencies and the record turnout, the Democratic Party
(民主黨) lost the status of being the largest political party in the Legislative Council to the pro-government Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong (who secured 12 seats) and pro-business Liberal Party
(who secured 10 seats) parties, thereby becoming only the third-largest party. Some attributed the poor performance of the pro-democratic camp to tactical mis-calculation in vote allocation. This was not helped by some of the democratic parties' personal scandals.
The pro-Beijing and pro-business parties succeeded in retaining the majority in the legislature. However, pro-democracy candidates have maintained the threshold to block changes (if necessary) to the Basic Law of Hong Kong (since a two-thirds vote is required for amendment). The current Legislative Council also saw the entry of more radical members of the 'democratic' camp.
The polling station operating manual had mistakes in it, so some candidate representatives were kicked out after the closing of the poll and were prevented from witnessing the counting, as required by law.
Some candidates have tried to challenge the election results, but have remained unsuccessful thus far.
A report on the election process was published shortly after the election. Another report was commissioned by the government to suggest future improvements.
The democratic camp called for direct elections for the Chief Executive of Hong Kong
in 2007
and for LegCo in 2008
, as well as rapid political reform. In contrast, the pro-Beijing and pro-business candidates placed more emphasis on economic growth and social stability. Most of the political parties are now setting 2012 as the ideal time for electoral reform.
While the democratic camp hoped to play up the issue of universal suffrage as a prominent issue in the election, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
ruled out universal suffrage for the Chief Executive's election in 2007 and for LegCo elections in 2008 in April 2004 before the election. Despite this, the pro-democratic camp insisted on promoting their agenda, which seemed to backfire when the campaign lost its original momentum. This was not helped by various sex and financial scandals of a few pro-democracy candidates. There were some allegations by the pro-democracy camp of Mainland Chinese influence behind this.
Some of the developments include:
Three Largest Parties:
party-list proportional representation
with the largest remainder method
and Hare Quota
.
Legislative Council of Hong Kong
The Legislative Council is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong.-History:The Legislative Council of Hong Kong was set up in 1843 as a colonial legislature under British rule...
(LegCo) was held on 12 September 2004. The elections returned 30 members from directly elected geographical constituencies and 30 members from functional constituencies
Functional constituency
In the political systems of Hong Kong and Macau, a functional constituency is a professional or special interest group involved in the electoral process...
, of which 11 were unopposed.
General outcome
A record number of 3.2 million people registered to vote in the election. The turnout rate was an unprecedented 55.6% with 1,784,406 voters casting ballots, beating the previous record set in 1998 by 200,000 votes.While pro-democratic opposition candidates gained new seats in the legislature, their gains fell short of their expectations.
In the geographical constituencies, candidates from the pro-democratic camp secured 60 percent of the seats in the geographical sectors of the election, taking 18 seats (up from 17) in this category, and 62 percent of the popular vote. On the other hand, the pro-Beijing / pro-business candidates made greater gains, winning 12 directly elected seats (up from 7). Ironically, in the functional constituencies which the pro-democratic camp sought to abolish, the camp made more gains (from 5 to 7 seats).
Overall, the democrats took 25 seats and the pro-government camp 35 seats. Bills initiated by the government can still be passed on pro-government support alone, but bills originated by members cannot be passed without democratic support, since these bills require absolute majorities in each sector (geographical and functional) of the legislature. Constitutional amendments require a two-thirds vote and thereby also require support from the democratic camp.
Despite the increase in the number of seats returned by geographical constituencies and the record turnout, the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Hong Kong)
The Democratic Party is a pro-democracy political party in Hong Kong. It was established on 2 October 1994. The party is currently the second largest party in the Legislative Council, headed by Chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan and, following the November 2008 merger with the Frontier, had around 745...
(民主黨) lost the status of being the largest political party in the Legislative Council to the pro-government Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong (who secured 12 seats) and pro-business Liberal Party
Liberal Party (Hong Kong)
Liberal Party is a business-friendly liberal conservative political party in Hong Kong.-Party beliefs:The party is known for its conservative and business-friendly policies. Despite being a political party friendly with Beijing, it fits in the centre-right political spectrum...
(who secured 10 seats) parties, thereby becoming only the third-largest party. Some attributed the poor performance of the pro-democratic camp to tactical mis-calculation in vote allocation. This was not helped by some of the democratic parties' personal scandals.
The pro-Beijing and pro-business parties succeeded in retaining the majority in the legislature. However, pro-democracy candidates have maintained the threshold to block changes (if necessary) to the Basic Law of Hong Kong (since a two-thirds vote is required for amendment). The current Legislative Council also saw the entry of more radical members of the 'democratic' camp.
Irregularities
There were a few reports of irregularities. Some polling stations ran out of ballot boxes, causing long delays in voting. To fit more ballots into the ballot boxes, some election workers forcefully stuffed ballots into the box using objects such as barbecue forks and metal rulers. Some stations also used random cardboard boxes without official seals. Some ballot boxes were opened before the close of polling.The polling station operating manual had mistakes in it, so some candidate representatives were kicked out after the closing of the poll and were prevented from witnessing the counting, as required by law.
Some candidates have tried to challenge the election results, but have remained unsuccessful thus far.
A report on the election process was published shortly after the election. Another report was commissioned by the government to suggest future improvements.
Dynamics
The election was largely seen as a contest between the pro-democracy coalition and the pro-business and pro-Beijing coalitions. There were 162 candidates for 60 seats in the LegCo. Before the election, the pro-democratic camp was widely expected to gain the most votes and increase its representation in the LegCo (from 22 seats). Some members of the pro-democratic camp aimed at securing an absolute majority of the seats in the legislature so that they would have the power to veto all government proposals.The democratic camp called for direct elections for the Chief Executive of Hong Kong
Chief Executive of Hong Kong
The Chief Executive of Hong Kong is the President of the Executive Council of Hong Kong and head of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The position was created to replace the Governor of Hong Kong, who was the head of the Hong Kong government during British rule...
in 2007
Hong Kong Chief Executive election, 2007
An election was held on 25 March 2007 to select the Chief Executive of Hong Kong at AsiaWorld-Expo. The third Chief Executive term began on 1 July 2007...
and for LegCo in 2008
Hong Kong legislative election, 2008
The 2008 Hong Kong legislative election was held on 7 September 2008 for the 4th Legislative Council since the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. There are 60 seats in the 4th Council, with 30 Members elected by geographical constituencies through direct elections, and...
, as well as rapid political reform. In contrast, the pro-Beijing and pro-business candidates placed more emphasis on economic growth and social stability. Most of the political parties are now setting 2012 as the ideal time for electoral reform.
While the democratic camp hoped to play up the issue of universal suffrage as a prominent issue in the election, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress is a committee of about 150 members of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China , which is convened between plenary sessions of the NPC. It has the constitutional authority to modify legislation within limits set by...
ruled out universal suffrage for the Chief Executive's election in 2007 and for LegCo elections in 2008 in April 2004 before the election. Despite this, the pro-democratic camp insisted on promoting their agenda, which seemed to backfire when the campaign lost its original momentum. This was not helped by various sex and financial scandals of a few pro-democracy candidates. There were some allegations by the pro-democracy camp of Mainland Chinese influence behind this.
Some of the developments include:
- Some reports in phone-in radio programmes that some officials in the Mainland requested businessmen to take photographs of their completed ballots with their mobile phones to prove that they have voted for pro-Beijing candidates. In response, the government removed curtains from polling booths to deter such activities.
- The entry into the election race of popular radio show host Albert Cheng, who had accused Beijing of pressuring him to leave his radio program.
- The arrest and sentence (by re-education through labor) of the Democratic Party candidate Alex Ho in GuangdongGuangdongGuangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
province of China for (allegedly) being caught and pictured in a hotel bedroom having relations with a prostitute. Although there were some initial predictions that Ho's arrest would help the Democratic Party by highlighting deficiencies in the PRC's judicial system, it is generally agreed that his arrest greatly hurt the party among women voter support in Hong Kong. - The involvement of Democratic Party James ToJames ToJames To Kun-sun is a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong representing the Kowloon West constituency. James To was also a member of the Yau Tsim Mong District Council until 2007.-Views, policy positions and Legco voting:...
and The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions Chan Yuen-han in scandals relating to the use of public funds for the benefit of their respective political groups. - Human Rights WatchHuman Rights WatchHuman Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
issued a report a few days before the election, accusing the PRC government of creating a "climate of fear" to influence the election. In response, the Hong Kong government claimed that the report was distorted. - The assault of a candidate of the Democratic Party in the New Territories East district, Mr. Wong Shing-chi. The suspect was arrested and reportedly found to be mentally ill.
- The election of radical activist "Long Hair", who ran as an independent but who is expected to side with pro-democracy representatives despite his revolutionary leanings.
General results
Democratic camp 25 seats, Pro-Beijing camp 35 seatsThree Largest Parties:
- DAB: 12 seats
- Liberal Party: 10 seats
- Democratic Party: 9 seats
Geographical constituencies (30 seats)
Voting System: ClosedClosed list
Closed list describes the variant of party-list proportional representation where voters can only vote for political parties as a whole and thus have no influence on the party-supplied order in which party candidates are elected...
party-list proportional representation
Party-list proportional representation
Party-list proportional representation systems are a family of voting systems emphasizing proportional representation in elections in which multiple candidates are elected...
with the largest remainder method
Largest remainder method
The largest remainder method is one way of allocating seats proportionally for representative assemblies with party list voting systems...
and Hare Quota
Hare quota
The Hare quota is a formula used under some forms of the Single Transferable Vote system and the largest remainder method of party-list proportional representation...
.