Hong Kong Chief Executive election, 2005
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| Hong Kong Chief Executive election, 2005 |
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| June 16, 2005 | ||||
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| Nominee | Donald Tsang | |||
| Electoral vote | Unopposed | |||
The Hong Kong Chief Executive election of 2005 was held to fill the vacancy of the territory's top office. Tung Chee Hwa submitted a resignation document to the Chinese government, and it was officially approved on March 12. On June 24, Donald Tsang was sworn in as the new Chief Executive on June 16. Since Tsang was the only candidate, no actual election was being held.
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[edit] History
During the 1996 and 2002 election, an 800-member Election Committee was used to elect the Chief Executive. Unlike the US system, there is no universal suffrage or universal right to vote. Senior employees, managers and professionals mainly vote pro-China to ensure their businesses can run smoothly. They were entirely biased in favor of Beijing's stance in the previous two elections.[1]
The previously elected Tung Chee Hwa had long been an unpopular Chief executive. Tung claimed his health was deteriorating early in 2005 and announced he was ready to resign. He filed for resignation on March 10[2], and two days later it was approved.
As of early April, there were 33 vacant spots, and nominations were opened for a poll to fill them.
On May 1 a by-election was held to fill the 33 vacant spots in the electoral college. Since four of the members are ex-officio members by more than one channels (e.g. deputy to PRC's National People's Congress and member of the Legislative Council simultaneously), so that there were only 796 electors.
Next, from June 3 to June 16 nominations were open to candidates who wanted to participate in this election. Donald Tsang for a long time remained the front-runner. He was declared elected unopposed as he was the only candidate managed to have 100 or more nominations from members of the Election Committee.
In the interim, Tsang and later Henry Tang served as acting Chief Executives in accordance with the Basic Law. Tsang was subsequently re-elected on 25th March, 2007, and served a new five-year term starting from 1st July, 2007.
[edit] Relevant text of the Basic Law
[edit] Article 52
Article 52 item 1 cites a health illness as an acceptable reason for resignation:
| “ | "The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region must resign under any of the following circumstances: (1) When he or she loses the ability to discharge his or her duties as a result of serious illness or other reasons.[3]" |
” |
Given the status of this resignation as voluntary (as Tung claims), and there are allegations that the citing of health reasons may not be an actual truth, as there is technically nothing prohibiting the use of excuses in such a manner. It is rumoured that the actual motive is a decision imposed by the central government, but it can also be a desire to spend more time with the family or many other reasons.
[edit] Article 53
Article 53 gives the provisions for an acting Chief Executive.
| “ | "If the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is not able to discharge his or her duties for a short period, such duties shall temporarily be assumed by the Administrative Secretary, Financial Secretary or Secretary of Justice in this order of precedence.[3]" | ” |
This gave Donald Tsang, the Secretary of Administration at the time, the right to act as Chief Executive from March 12 to May 25. He then had to resign, since it was illegal for him to become a candidate while acting as Chief Executive at the same time. Henry Tang, who was then Financial Secretary, filled him in according to the article. He then appointed Michael Suen as the new (acting in the interim) Chief Secretary. When Tsang was elected he was brought before the central government for approval and inauguration. The second section of Article 53 gives provisions for a new election.
| “ | "In the event that the office of Chief Executive becomes vacant, a new Chief Executive shall be selected within six months in accordance with the provisions of Article 45 of this Law. During the period of vacancy, his or her duties shall be assumed according to the provisions of the preceding paragraph.[3]" | ” |
The process is well defined under this clause, and Tsang's term as acting Chief Executive was limited to six months. The Chief Executive Election Ordinance defines the time as 120 days, give or take a few days, (ensuring an election on Sunday rather than on a weekday), which made July 10 the date for the election, if one had been warranted by multiple candidature.
[edit] Article 45
Article 45 gives the requirements for choosing the Chief Executive, and Annex I does likewise in a more specific manner.
| “ | "The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be selected by election or through consultations held locally and be appointed by the Central People's Government.[3]" | ” |
| “ | "The method for selecting the Chief Executive shall be specified in the light of the actual situation in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and in accordance with the principle of gradual and orderly progress. The ultimate aim is the selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures.[3]" | ” |
[edit] Annex I
The specific method for selecting the Chief Executive is prescribed in Basic Law Annex I: "Method for the Selection of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region". The Election Committee shall be composed of 800 members from the following sectors:
| Sector | Members[3] |
|---|---|
| Industrial, commercial and financial sectors | 200 |
| The professions | 200 |
| Labour, social services, religious and other sectors | 200 |
| Members of the Legislative Council Representatives of district-based organizations Hong Kong deputies to the National People's Congress Representatives of Hong Kong members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference |
200 |
| Total | 800 |
[edit] Article 46
Article 46 was a subject of controversy regarding the term of the newly-elected Chief Executive. The article states:
| “ | "The term of office of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be five years. He or she may serve for not more than two consecutive terms." | ” |
The law requires a term of five years, but mainland officials have said the new leader filling-in can only serve until 2007. The matter was settled after a re-interpretation by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC).[4] Though this did damage the credibility and integrity of the one country, two systems formula.[4]
A literal interpretation would mean Tsang has to serve until 2010, but this is not common sense behaviour in most other nations; one can only complete the term of a predecessor. The Chinese government has decided that the new leader would serve until Inauguration day in 2007.
[edit] The Election
[edit] Election Committee Vacancies
In April 2005, 33 vacancies (27 from the regular constituencies, 6 from the religious sector) existed in the Election Committee. Nominations were accepted over a one-week timeframe from April 9 to April 15 to fill the seats. The six empty seats in the religious sector were appointed by the religious councils. Out of the 27 seats in 16 functional constituencies, 12 candidates were immediately declared elected to their seats because there were no more candidates competing than the number of seats available, and hence, these ones were declared elected unopposed.
In the other seven constituencies, where 15 vacancies were present, a poll was held on May 1, and the count was conducted smoothly with all the elected candidates expected to be entered onto the official listing of Election Committee members within the near future. The by-election was marked by voter apathy, where only 15% of the eligible population turned up, with some constituencies reporting as low as 12%, despite the pleadings of the Hong Kong Government. Only two functional constituencies, Agriculture and Fisheries (85%) and District Council (86%) had higher voter turnouts than one quarter.
[edit] Chief Executive Election
In early June, candidature nominations were held. The support of 100 Election Committee members is required (Ann. 1, Sect. 4, above) to be a legal candidate. Given the largely pro-China status of the Election Committee, it became common for the favoured candidate of the Chinese government to get elected unopposed.
Given the four vacancies in the EC, 697 signatures would theoretically elect a candidate unopposed, since no one else could possibly obtain 100 anymore.
[edit] List of contenders who sought to be candidates
| Name in English | Name in Chinese | Position | Support in EC | Nomination |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donald Tsang | 曾蔭權 | Former Chief Secretary | 674 | Valid |
| Lee Wing Tat | 李永達 | Chairman of the Democratic Party and Member of the Legislative Council | 52 | Invalid |
| Chim Pui Chung | 詹培忠 | Member of the Legislative Council | 21 | Invalid |
Tsang was declared elected unopposed on June 16, gazetted by the Government on June 21, and duly inaugurated on June 24.
[edit] References
- ^ Bush, Richard C. [2005] (2005). Untying the Knot: Making Peace in the Taiwan Strait. Brookings Institution Press. ISBN 081571288X. pg 94.
- ^ Yau, Cannix (March 11, 2005). Tung's gone. What next?. Hong Kong Standard. Retrieved on 2007-01-11.
- ^ a b c d e f HK basic law web pdf. "HK basic law." The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative region of the People's Republic of China. Retrieved on 2007-01-08.
- ^ a b Williams, Mark. Competition Policy and Law in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. [2005] (2005). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 052183631X.
[edit] External links
[edit] Laws
- Basic Law of Hong Kong
- Chief Executive Election Ordinance (Cap 569) (pdf format)
- Chief Executive Election Ordinance (Cap 569) (html format)
- Election Guidelines for the 2005 by-election
- Chief Executive election guidelines
[edit] Pages from the Hong Kong Government's election website
- 2005 Chief Executive election website- the home page for the website (See also Chinese version)
- 2005 Election Committee by-elections- the home page for the EC by-elections. (See also the Chinese version.)
- Candidate Platforms and Background Information
- Election Results
[edit] Press Releases from the Hong Kong Government
The most recent are listed at the top.
[edit] Chief Executive elections
- Validation of Tsang's nomination
- Donald Tsang's nomination
- Allen Tam's nomination
- Li Hau's nomination- this nomination application was later ruled invalid
- Chan Yuet Tung's nomination
- ECA's warning on electoral law violation
- Announcement on the opening of nominations
- SCA's comments after the Chief Executive Ordinance Amendment Bill is passed by LegCo
[edit] Election Committee by-elections
- Comments given after the election
- Voter Turnout Rates
- Secretary of Constitutional Affairs' speech regarding the election
- Announcement on opening of polls
- Announcement on the accepting of nominations
[edit] On the interpretation of the Election laws
- Clarifications on the CE election guidelines- presented in a question-and-answer format
- Decision on implementing a 2-year term for the new CE
[edit] Tung Chee Hwa's resignation
- Donald Tsang's Acting Chief Executive statement
- Remarks from the news conference following the resignation
- Donald Tsang's speech concerning the resignation
- Tung Chee Hwa's resignation speech
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