A nomination period was due to begin on Sunday for the election originally slated for March 27.
The nomination period will now take place between April 3 and 16.
“For public health, our government needs to focus on the epidemic. [Our attention] cannot be diverted and we cannot afford to lose,” Lam told a press conference.
“This matches the spirit of President Xi Jinping’s important directive – that controlling the epidemic is the overriding mission, over anything else.”
Lam said the Chief Executive in Council has agreed to invoke emergency laws to postpone the election.
Two years ago, the Carrie Lam administration also cited the pandemic in its decision to postpone for a year the Legislative Council elections originally scheduled to take place in September 2020.
Lam said the Covid situation now is far worse than that in 2020, with thousands of infections being reported each day.
In a statement, the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office said it supports the SAR government’s decision, as officials here need to concentrate on its anti-epidemic efforts and safeguard social stability. The Liaison Office, meanwhile, said the postponement is in line with Hong Kong’s overall interest.
The only non-establishment lawmaker in the Legislative Council, Tik Chi-yuen, also backs the government’s decision.
“It’s only the postponement of the election process, but not the extension of the CE period. It will not create any problem for any potential candidate. If the pandemic situation becomes [less] serious… they can make more interaction with the public and the voters,” the social welfare representative said.
DAB lawmaker Nixie Lam said while she understands the government’s decision, experience shows it would be difficult for the next Hong Kong leader to form a new cabinet within a short period of time, before taking office on July 1.
“It would be tough… I mean I was one of the new legislators. We only had less than a month. Actually, we only had like two weeks, [with] public holidays or something in between,” Lam said.
But executive councillor Regina Ip said she doesn’t believe the postponement will have any impact on the Chief Executive-elect’s preparation work.
“I think holding the election on May 8 should give the new CE enough time to form a new team. Because presumably, anyone who aspires to be CE, should be fairly well-prepared by now,” she said.
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Last updated: 2022-02-18 HKT 21:49
