Hong Kong delays polls citing COVID, critics call it attempt to create ‘puppet parliament’

Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam announced that the elections scheduled for September 6 have been postponed due to the mounting concern over coronavirus pandemic. Lam told reporters on July 31 that the postponement of Legislative Council election was the most difficult decision in the last seven months, ignoring the draconian security law.

According to media reports, the delay in polls could be for up to one year, serving another blow to pro-democracy voices after disqualifying a dozen of activists for the local elections. Joshua Wong, one of the city’s most notable pro-democracy activists, said that the mass disqualifications are just the beginning as Beijing is staging multiple acts to prevent the opposition bloc from taking the majority in LegCo.

“They could disqualify us, arrest us, throw us into jail, or even call off the election and create a puppet parliament elsewhere,” tweeted the Demosisto leader.

Calling it the “largest election fraud” in Hong Kong’s history, Joshua said that Beijing cannot overturn the strong mandate of 610,000 Hong Kongers who had cast their ballots in the city's first-ever primaries earlier this month. He asked to what extent and in what ways does Beijing intend to reopen the election.

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Disqualifies 12 candidates

On July 30, Hong Kong administration disqualified a dozen pro-democracy candidates, saying they could not be considered to be abiding by the constitutional duty required of lawmakers under the new law. The range of violations includes advocating for, or promoting, Hong Kong's independence or soliciting intervention by foreign governments in Hong Kong's affairs.

"There is no question of any political censorship, restriction of the freedom of speech or deprivation of the right to stand for elections as alleged by some members of the community," the government said in a statement announcing disqualifications.

Joshua said that he was disqualified from running the upcoming LegCo election even after getting the highest vote share in the primary elections. He said that the government disqualified him because he had described the national security law as a draconian law.

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