‹ 2000  2008 › |
||||
| Hong Kong legislative election, 2004 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49 (of 60) seats to the Legislative Council | ||||
| 12 September 2004 | ||||
| Majority party | Minority party | Third party | ||
 |
||||
| Leader | Ma Lik | James Tien | Yeung Sum | |
| Party | DAB | Liberal Party | Democratic Party | |
| Leader's seat | Hong Kong Island | New Territories East | Hong Kong Island | |
| Last election | 10 seats, 16.67% | 7 seats, 11.67% | 13 seats, 21.67% | |
| Seats won | 10 | 10 | 9 | |
| Seat change | +0 | +3 | -4 | |
| Popular vote | 402,420 | 118,997 | 423,631 | |
| Percentage | 22.55% | 6.67% | 23.74% | |
| Swing | -3.77% | +4.79% | -8% | |
 |
||||
| Distribution of seats in the Legco (2004-2008) | ||||
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2009) |
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.
Contents |
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 (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.
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.[1] Another report was commissioned by the government to suggest future improvements.[2]
| Parties | Votes | % | Geographical constituencies |
Functional constituencies |
Total seats | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pro-Democracy | Democratic Party | 423,631 | 23.74 | 7 | 2 | 9 | |
| Article 45 Concern Group | 165,008 | 9.25 | 3 | 1 | 4 | ||
| Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood | 74,671 | 4.18 | 1 | 1 | |||
| Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions | 89,185 | 5.00 | 1 | 1 | |||
| Neighbourhood and Workers Service Centre | 59,033 | 3.31 | 1 | 1 | |||
| The Frontier | 73,844 | 4.14 | 1 | 1 | |||
| Pro democracy individuals and others | 115,181 | 6.45 | 4 | 4 | 8 | ||
| Total for Pro-Democracy Camp | 1,000,553 | 56.07% (60.31%) | 18 | 7 | 25 | ||
| Pro-Government | Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong | 402,420 | 22.55 | 8 | 2 | 10 | |
| Liberal Party | 118,997 | 6.67 | 2 | 8 | 10 | ||
| The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions | 52,564 | 2.95 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| Pro-government individuals and others | 84,346 | 4.76 | 1 | 11 | 12 | ||
| Total for Pro-China Camp | 658,327 | 36.89% (39.69%) | 12 | 23 | 35 | ||
| Non-partisan | Individuals and others | 125,526 | 7.03 | ||||
| Total (turnout 55.6) | 1,784,406 | 100.0 | 30 | 30 | 60 | ||
| Source turnout: Xinhua. 11 candidates in 11 functional constituencies were elected unopposed to the Legislative Council. | |||||||
(Total votes added up by this reference) For the joint list of pro-democrats in NT East, where there was a threshold of 50000 votes for a seat. Cheng and Lau obtained 50,000 votes each, and Tong got 48,833 vote, getting the last seat.
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 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:
- 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 Guangdong 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 To 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 Watch 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.
Candidates and results
General results
Democratic camp 25 seats, Pro-Beijing camp 35 seats Three Largest Parties:
- DAB: 12 seats
- Liberal Party: 10 seats
- Democratic Party: 9 seats
Geographical constituencies (30 seats)
Voting System: Closed party-list proportional representation with the largest remainder method and Hare Quota.
| Hong Kong Island (香港島) (6 seats) | |||||
| List Number | Party | Votes Received | Candidates | ||
| % | elected | not elected | |||
| List 1 | DAB | 74,659 | 21.1 | Ma Lik, Choy So Yuk | Chung Shu Kun, Christopher, Yeung Wai Foon, Lee Yuen Kwong, Cheung Kwok Kwan |
| List 2 | Independent | 65,661 | 18.5 | Rita Fan | |
| List 3 | Independent | 5,313 | 1.5 | Tsang Kin Shing, Chung Chung Fai, Tang Chui Chung | |
| List 4 | Democratic Party | 131,788 | 37.2 | Yeung Sum, Martin Lee | Lai Chi Keong, Joseph |
| List 5 | Independent | 2,830 | 0.8 | Wong Kam Fai, Kelvin | |
| List 6 | Independent; Civic Act-up | 73,844 | 20.9 | Audrey Eu (Article 45 Concern Group) | Cyd Ho (The Frontier, Civic Act-up) |
| 354,095 | 100.0 | ||||
| Kowloon West (九龍西) (5 seats) | |||||
| List Number | Party | Votes Received | Candidates | ||
| % | elected | not elected | |||
| List 1 | Independent | 1,824 | 0.8 | Lau Yuk Shing, Leung Suet Fong, Lau Po Kwan | |
| List 2 | HKADPL | 46,649 | 20.5 | Frederick Fung | |
| List 3 | Independent | 43,460 | 19.1 | Lau Chin Shek | |
| List 4 | DAB | 61,770 | 27.1 | Tsang Yok-sing | Chung Kong Mo, Starry Lee |
| List 5 | Democratic Party | 60,539 | 26.6 | James To | Chan Ka Wai, Lam Ho Yeung, Ma Kee |
| List 6 | HKADPL (list 2) | 13,452 | 5.9 | Liu Sing Lee | |
| 227,694 | 100.0 | ||||
| Kowloon East (九龍東) (4 seats) | |||||
| List Number | Party | Votes Received | Candidates | ||
| % | elected | not elected | |||
| List 1 | Democratic Party | 56,462 | 19.2 | Li Wah Ming | Wu Chi Wai, Ho Wai To |
| List 2 | DAB / HKFTU | 55,306 | 18.8 | Chan Kam Lam | Choi Chun Wa, Chan Tak Ming |
| List 3 | Independent | 73,479 | 25.0 | Albert Cheng | Andrew To (The Frontier) |
| List 4 | Independent | 56,175 | 19.1 | Alan Leong (Article 45 Concern Group) | |
| List 5 | HKFTU/ DAB | 52,564 | 17.9 | Chan Yuen Han | Lam Man Fai, Tang Ka Piu (Independent) |
| 293,986 | 100.0 | ||||
| New Territories West (新界西) (8 seats) | |||||
| List Number | Party | Votes Received | Candidates | ||
| % | elected | not elected | |||
| List 1 | Independent | 36,278 | 7.83 | Albert Chan | |
| List 2 | Democratic Party | 62,500 | 13.49 | Lee Wing Tat | Chan Yuen Sum, Sumly |
| List 3 | Democratic Party | 62,342 | 13.45 | Albert Ho | Cheung Yin Tung |
| List 4 | HKNWSC | 59,033 | 12.74 | Leung Yiu Chung | |
| List 5 | Independent | 1,725 | 0.37 | Chow Ping Tim | |
| List 6 | Independent | 9,116 | 1.97 | Char Shik Ngor, Stephen | |
| List 7 | DAB | 115,251 | 24.87 | Tam Yiu Chung, Cheung Hok Ming | Leung Che Cheung, Au Yeung Po Chun, Tsui Fan, Chan Han Pan, Lo Kwong Sing Andy, Ng King Wah Philip |
| List 8 | Independent | 1,920 | 0.41 | Ng Tak Leung | |
| List 9 | Liberal Party | 50,437 | 10.88 | Selina Chow | Ting Woo Shou, Kenneth |
| List 10 | New Century Forum | 4,511 | 0.97 | Lui Hau Tuen, Siu Shing Choi, Chan Choi Hi | |
| List 11 | HKCTU | 45,725 | 9.87 | Lee Cheuk Yan | Ip Ngok Fung |
| List 12 | ADPL | 14,570 | 3.14 | Yim Tim Sang, Kong Fung Yi, Tai Yin Chiu, Kwun Tung Wing | |
| 463,408 | 100.00 | ||||
| New Territories East (新界東) (7 seats) | |||||
| List Number | Party | Votes Received | Candidates | ||
| % | elected | not elected | |||
| List 1 | Independent | 60,925 | 14.14 | Leung Kwok Hung ("Long Hair") | |
| List 2 | Progr. Alliance | 14,174 | 3.29 | Tso Wung-Wai | |
| List 3 | 7.1 United Front | 168,833 | 39.17 | Andrew Cheng (Democratic Party), Emily Lau (The Frontier), Ronny Tong (Article 45 Concern Group) | Wong Sing Chi (Democratic Party), Tsoi Yiu Cheong, Richard (HKCTU), Ho Suk Ping Shirley (Democratic Party), Or Yiu Lam Ricky (The Frontier) |
| List 4 | Liberal | 68,560 | 15.91 | James Tien; | |
| List 5 | Independent | 23,081 | 5.36 | Andrew Wong | |
| List 6 | DAB | 95,434 | 22.14 | Lau Kong Wah, Li Kwok Ying | Mok Kam Kwai, Chan Kwok Kai, So Sai Chi, Wong Pik Kiu, Chan Hak-kan |
| 431,007 | 100.00 | ||||
Election results
Summary of outcome
Geographical constituencies
- Pro Democracy (18 seats):
- Democratic Party 民主黨): 7 seats
- Article 45 Concern Group (四十五條關注組): 3 seats
- Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood (民主民生協進會, 民協) : 1 seat
- Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (香港職工會聯盟): 1 seat
- Neighbourhood and Workers Service Centre (街坊工友服務處): 1 seat
- The Frontier (前綫): 1 seat
- Pro democracy individuals: 4 seats
- Pro Government (12 seats):
- Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong (民主建港聯盟, 民建聯): 8 seats
- The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (香港工會聯合會, 工聯會) : 1 seats
- Liberal Party (自由黨): 2 seats
- Pro government individual: 1 seat
Functional constituencies
- Pro-democracy (7 seats)
- Democratic Party: 2 seats
- Other: 5 seats
- Pro-government (23 seats)
- Liberal Party: 8 seats
- DAB: 4 seats
- Other: 11 seats
- Democratic camp 25 seats, Pro-Beijing camp 35 seats three largest parties:
- DAB: 12 seats
- Liberal Party: 10 seats
- Democratic Party: 9 seats
References
- ^ "2004 Legisilative Council Election". Electoral Affairs Commission. http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr04-05/english/panels/ca/papers/ca1220-eprt-e-scan.pdf. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
- ^ "Report of the Independent Committee of Experts for the Review on the Management, Planning and Conduct of Elections". Government Information Centre. 2005-05-06. http://www.info.gov.hk/info/report05/. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
External links
|
|||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
