A Hong Kong election committee is voting Sunday for the city’s only leadership candidate, John Lee, who is widely expected to win and become Hong Kong’s next chief executive.
The committee, comprised of nearly 1,500 largely pro-Beijing members, is voting in a secret ballot that will last 2 1/2 hours. Lee needs more than 750 votes to win the election.
As the only candidate in the polls, Lee is expected to win easily, especially since he has Beijing’s endorsement and last month obtained 786 nominations from members of the Election Committee in support of his candidacy.
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The election on Sunday follows major changes to Hong Kong’s electoral laws last year to ensure that only “patriots” loyal to Beijing can hold office. The legislature was also reorganized to all but eliminate opposition voices.
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The elaborate arrangements surrounding the pre-determined outcome speak to Beijing’s desire for a veneer of democracy. Though they will vote in a secret ballot, Hong Kong’s electors have all been carefully vetted.
On Sunday morning, three members of the League of Social Democrats, a local activist group, protested the election by attempting to march toward the election venue while displaying a banner demanding universal suffrage that would allow Hong Kongers to vote both for the legislature and the chief executive.
“Human rights over power, the people are greater than the country,” the banner read. “One person, one vote for the chief executive. Immediately implement dual universal suffrage.”
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