2007 Hong Kong Island by-election

2007 Hong Kong Island by-election

← 2004 2 December 2007 2008 →
Opinion polls
Turnout52.06%
 
Candidate Anson Chan Regina Ip
Party Independent Independent
Alliance Pan-democracy Pro-Beijing
Popular vote 175,874 137,550
Percentage 54.84% 42.89%

Member before election

Ma Lik (deceased)
DAB

Elected Member

Anson Chan
Independent

Anson Chan's supporters
Regina Ip supporters, some bearing anti-Chan banners.

The 2007 Hong Kong Island by-election was held on 2 December 2007 and was won by Anson Chan with 54.6% of the votes cast.[1] It was precipitated by the death of the then chairman of the Pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) Ma Lik on 8 August 2007.[2]

It was the second by-election in a geographical constituency to be held since the transfer of sovereignty in 1997 and the largest remainder proportional representation electoral system was adopted in 1998, coincidentally in the same constituency – Hong Kong Island.

There were eight candidates in all, all standing as independents. However, the two front-runners had respectively secured the backing of the largest political groupings, Pan-democrats and Beijing loyalists. The pro-democracy camp agreed to unite behind a single candidate, Anson Chan, former Chief Secretary for Administration, selected through a selection process; the Liberal Party and the DAB bargained behind closed doors to select Regina Ip, the former Secretary for Security who resigned following the 500,000-strong 2003 1 July protest.

  1. ^ "Elections results" Archived 15 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Elections.gov.hk, 2 December 2007
  2. ^ Gazette, 11 August 2007.