Holding by-election to replace disgraced lawmaker low priority, John Lee says

Weighing in on the issue for first time, city leader stresses electoral authorities need to consider ‘necessity of poll’

Holding a by-election to fill a seat vacated by former lawmaker William Wong Kam-fai after he resigned over a drink-driving arrest is a lower priority than preparing three important polls over the next 18 months, Hong Kong’s leader has said.

Weighing in on the issue for the first time nearly a month after Wong’s resignation, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu stressed that electoral authorities needed to weigh the “necessity of a poll”, alongside manpower and logistics in deciding whether to trigger an election.

Lee on Tuesday gave the clearest signal so far among officials that the vote to replace the resigned lawmaker would not take place, after Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Janice Tse Siu-wa cited time constraints and concerns about the cost-effectiveness of holding such a poll.

“When we look at the three important elections we have in the next 18 months, our priority must be successfully conducting these three polls rather than the by-election for the vacant Legco seat, in terms of time and workload,” Lee said.

The three scheduled polls are the Election Committee subsector election this November, the chief executive poll next March and the District Council election towards the end of next year.

When electoral authorities weigh the “necessity of a poll”, factors such as manpower, venue arrangements and the procurement of election materials must be considered “based on the actual situation”, Lee said.