Several HK media outlets have reported on the contents of the NPC's forthcoming decision to overhauling Hong Kong's electoral system. What do we know so far? A thread 🧵:
1. "Patriot" test for candidates for public offices
A new body will be established to vet all candidates for elected offices (incl. the Chief Executive Election Committee, Legislative Council & District Councils) to ensure they are "patriots."
A new body will be established to vet all candidates for elected offices (incl. the Chief Executive Election Committee, Legislative Council & District Councils) to ensure they are "patriots."
2. Changes to the Election Committee (EC)
a. A fifth sector of 300 members (which could include all HK CPPCC members & community leaders) will be added, increasing the EC's size to 1500 (from 1200)
b. To be nominated for CE, a candidate must get >=15 votes from EACH sector
a. A fifth sector of 300 members (which could include all HK CPPCC members & community leaders) will be added, increasing the EC's size to 1500 (from 1200)
b. To be nominated for CE, a candidate must get >=15 votes from EACH sector
c. The threshold for becoming a CE nominee will be raised to 188 votes (from 150)
d. The current 117 seats on the Election Committee for District Councilors will be abolished
d. The current 117 seats on the Election Committee for District Councilors will be abolished
3. Changes to Legislative Council (LegCo)
a. The current five popularly elected "Super Seats" (reserved for District Councilors) will be scrapped
b. 20 more seats will be added to the LegCo, bringing the total to 90 (from 70)
a. The current five popularly elected "Super Seats" (reserved for District Councilors) will be scrapped
b. 20 more seats will be added to the LegCo, bringing the total to 90 (from 70)
c. At least some (perhaps all) of these 25 seats (20 new + 5 former Super Seats) will be filled by the Election Committee. The resulting ratio b/t seats elected by geographic constituencies (the only directly elected ones), functional constituencies & EC isn't immediately clear.
d. The current 5 big districts for geographic constituencies will be replaced w/ 18 smaller districts & the proportional representation election system replaced w/ a modified first-past-the-post system. Pan-dems would be unlikely to win a majority of these directly elected seats.
4. Procedural issues
a. The NPC is expected to approve the decision on March 11.
b. Changes to both the Election Committee & LegCo will require amending the Hong Kong Basic Law (specifically Annexes I & II). One outlet reports the NPC will indeed do so.
a. The NPC is expected to approve the decision on March 11.
b. Changes to both the Election Committee & LegCo will require amending the Hong Kong Basic Law (specifically Annexes I & II). One outlet reports the NPC will indeed do so.
c. It appears that the NPC Standing Committee wouldn't need to pass more detailed legislation. Instead, that would be the Hong Kong gov's job.
Note: these details haven't been officially confirmed. We expect to see a draft of the decision Friday morning (in several hours). /end
Note: these details haven't been officially confirmed. We expect to see a draft of the decision Friday morning (in several hours). /end
Addendum: it’s always fun to discover a huge typo in the first tweet of a long thread right after it is published.
Addendum #2: We have created a page for the NPC's Hong Kong electoral reform decision. Our future coverage as well as the decision's final text and legislative records will all be posted there: npcobserver.com/legislation/np…
Addendum #3: Some additional details from @SCMPNews:
1. Geographical constituencies (GCs) will lose 5 seats in the LegCo. GCs, functional constituencies & EC will each elect 30 LegCo members.
2. The NPC will authorize the NPCSC to amend the two Annexes to the HK Basic Law.
1. Geographical constituencies (GCs) will lose 5 seats in the LegCo. GCs, functional constituencies & EC will each elect 30 LegCo members.
2. The NPC will authorize the NPCSC to amend the two Annexes to the HK Basic Law.
Addendum #4:
1. Some outlets have reported that the Election Committee would get to nominate all LegCo candidates.
2. There's some confusion as which body (NPC or NPCSC) would actually amend the HK Basic Law's 2 Annexes (which govern the CE's and LegCo's elections, respectively).
1. Some outlets have reported that the Election Committee would get to nominate all LegCo candidates.
2. There's some confusion as which body (NPC or NPCSC) would actually amend the HK Basic Law's 2 Annexes (which govern the CE's and LegCo's elections, respectively).
3. One clarification: under point 3d above, by "modified first-past-the-post" we meant a system under which 17 of the 18 new geographical constituencies will each get 2 seats in the LegCo. Each voter can vote for 2 candidates & the top two win. (The last GC gets only one seat.)
Addendum #5: The NPC just posted an explanation of the pending Hong Kong electoral reform decision. Here's a short thread on the explanation (with a link to the document itself):
https://twitter.com/NPC_Observer/status/1367719494240600066?s=20
Correction: The tweet below should've said "each voter can vote for only one candidate and the top two win." This is known as the "one vote, two seats" mechanism.
https://twitter.com/NPC_Observer/status/1367699530943184898?s=20
Addendum #6: @hk01official reports new makeup of a reformed LegCo: 20 seats (from 35) for geog. constituencies, 30 (from 35) for func. constituencies & 40 elected by EC. So it seems authorities haven't made up their mind yet & the NPC's decision won't include a detailed plan.
Here's the @hk01official report. hk01.com/%E6%94%BF%E6%8…
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