The Hong Kong government has postponed its upcoming elections for a year, citing the growing outbreak of coronavirus in the territory but raising immediate accusations that the pandemic was being used as a pretext to suppress democracy.
City leader Carrie Lam announced Friday that she had invoked the colonial era. emergency regulations to delay the vote from September 6 to September 5, 2021, saying it was the “most difficult decision I have made in the past seven months”, but it had the full support of the Chinese central government.
Hong Kong is experiencing the worst outbreak of the pandemic, with more than 100 new cases a day, mostly community broadcasts, and Covid-19 hospital wards with approximately 80% of capacity. Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive, said part of the government’s response to the virus was “the willingness to make difficult decisions.”
“The Legco election is held once every four years and it is a really difficult decision to delay it, but we want to ensure public health and safety, and we want to make sure that the elections are held openly, fairly and impartially,” Lam said. of the vote of the legislative council.
While it largely kept the virus under control after arriving in Hong Kong in January, the government has come under fire for manipulating numerous aspects of its response, particularly in this so-called third wave. However, the current outbreak appears to be declining and, when asked why the election was postponed, Lam noted the increase in numbers in the rest of the world.
Lam said she and her colleagues had consulted with the World Health Organization about the decision, and she provided a statistical list of the risks of having millions of voters and voting staff gathered in one day. She also said that many residents were stranded outside Hong Kong amid border closings, and argued that.
Hong Kong lacked the ability to vote electronically or by post.
Lam also ruled out comparisons with other countries that have held elections amid worse outbreaks. She said that only 49 countries or areas had followed through on their votes during the pandemic, while 68 had to delay, citing an Australian local council election as an example.
“So it can be said that there are more places or countries that delay their elections instead of proceeding as scheduled.”
When the government plans to postpone Elections leaked earlier this week, amid Beijing’s growing control over the semi-autonomous region, and a day after 12 pro-democracy candidates were disqualified for the bid, it was immediately branded as an “assault on the fundamental liberties”.
In an increasingly defensive tone, Lam said at the press conference that “there was definitely no political consideration” to the decision, that “it had nothing to do with the likely outcome of this election round,” referring to speculation by that pro-democratic parties would win the majority.
Granting that it was unconstitutional to allow the current legislative council to sit longer than its four-year term, Lam said he had asked Beijing for help and that the standing committee of the National People’s Congress would make a legal statement to resolve the problem.
In a statement, the central government confirmed that the standing committee would also decide the fate of pro-democracy lawmakers who were disqualified from running again in the now-postponed elections. Lam said he thought they should continue in their seats.
The postponement has sparked the fury of opposition and pro-democracy groups.
“Postponing the September elections for a year is a cynical move to contain a political, not a public health, emergency,” said Sophie Richardson of Human Rights Watch.
“This simply allows Carrie Lam to deny the people of Hong Kong their right to choose their government. Without making any attempt to seek alternative voting methods, or to ensure that all voting rights are respected, Lam and her sponsors in Beijing are simply masking the repression in the guise of public health. “
On Friday afternoon, a coalition of pro-democracy lawmakers accused the government of using the pandemic to delay an election it seemed to lose. The group said they represented 60% of the population and “collectively and severely oppose a postponement.”
“We stress that the government has a responsibility to organize anti-epidemic measures to the best of their ability so that the September survey can be conducted as scheduled. Otherwise, it amounts to uprooting the entire SAR base. ”
Earlier this week, Hong Kong Watch, a pro-democracy group, released comparative data on the Hong Kong outbreak and that of other countries that have held elections during the pandemic.
Hong Kong reports between 100 and 150 cases per day, having recorded 2,779 in total. Singapore registered 451 new cases on the day of its election earlier this month, for a total of 38,965.
“If the Hong Kong government decides to postpone the election for a year, then it is not only totally unnecessary, but an assault on fundamental freedoms,” said Johnny Patterson, director of Hong Kong Watch.
“Other governments have shown that the Hong Kong government does not need to cancel elections for a year to protect itself against the threat to public health. This decision to consider postponing the legislative council elections for a year is fueled by fear of an opposition majority in favor of democracy, and by fear that attempts to disqualify and arrest pro-democracy candidates under of the national security law are complied with new international community sanctions. “
The postponement is the latest event in the apparent decline of democracy in Hong Kong.
On June 30, general national security laws took effect, enforced by Beijing outside the Hong Kong legislature and with at least 10 people arrested in protests on the first day. Schools, libraries and bookstores have been asked to remove books that may violate the new laws, and democratic parties holding pre-election primary elections were accused of trying to manipulate the elections.
This week, the academic from the University of Hong Kong, Benny Tai, was fired by the university council, and four students, aged between 16 and 21 and members of an independence group that dissolved its local branch on the eve of the laws , they were arrested. Police said they were arrested on suspicion of organizing and inciting secession through comments made in social media posts after the law went into effect.
On Thursday, 12 opposition figures, including incumbent lawmakers, veteran politicians and high-profile activist Joshua Wong, were disqualified from participating in the September polls.
The electoral office ruled that the tickets were invalid because some had previously asked foreign governments to sanction Beijing and Hong Kong, and this violated national security law, or pledged to block government bills if they won the most.
“Our resistance will continue and we hope the world can support us in the next uphill battle,” Wong told reporters on Friday, 23. “Beyond any doubt (this) is the most scandalous era of electoral scandal in Hong Kong history.”
When asked if he feared for his own safety, Wong asked for the release of the four students. “I urge the world to pay global attention to the other arrested and detained activists,” he said, adding that he feared they might be extradited to China.
Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong, said Thursday that the disqualifications were “an outrageous political purge of the Hong Kong Democrats.”
“National security law is being used to deprive the majority of Hong Kong citizens. Obviously, it is now illegal to believe in democracy, although this was what Beijing promised in and after the joint declaration. This is the kind of behavior you would expect in a police state. “
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