By the close of the two-week nomination period yesterday, the
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Registration and Electoral
Office had received 109 nominations for the 2004
Legislative Council (LegCo) election.
On the final day, six more nominations were received for five
geographical constituencies (GC) and six for four functional
constituencies (FC).
The Registration and Electoral Office has received a total of 37
tickets running for the LegCo GC elections; and 72 candidates have
signed up for FC elections. Eleven of them are uncontested.
One of the nominations submitted on the final day was that of
former radio talk-show host Albert Cheng, who finally decided to
compete in Kowloon East. Speculation had been running high about
his possible candidacy.
New Territories (NT) West is the most chaotic geographical
constituency, with a total of 13 tickets vying for the eight
seats.
The likely winner of the eighth seat is anyone's guess, but the
decision will most likely be made by the number of surplus votes
under the current electoral system.
For FC elections, the tension in the accountancy constituency is
unprecedented as there are nine candidates, including both veteran
and young accountants, competing for one place.
The architectural, surveying and planning constituency is also
hotly contested, with six candidates vying for just one seat.
Keen competition will also occur in the financial services
constituency, with five candidates. The winning margins are
expected to be very narrow since there are only 644 voters in this
constituency.
James Sung, principal lecturer in the School of Continuing and
Professional Education at City University of Hong Kong, said
political parties have become more mature in this year's elections
than they were in the 2000 elections.
He said the "pan-democratic" camp has employed a coordinated
strategy to decide the final list of candidates.
Chen Zuo'er, deputy director of Hong Kong and Macao Affairs
Office of the State Council, said on Wednesday that the LegCo
election in September will be a democratic one that tallies with
Hong Kong's constitutional development.
(China Daily August 5, 2004)