The 2020 Hong Kong Legislative Council election was originally scheduled on 6 September 2020 until it was postponed by the government. On 31 July 2020, Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced that she was invoking the Emergency Regulations Ordinance to postpone the election under the emergency powers granted to her by it, citing the recent resurgence of the COVID-19 cases, adding that the move was supported by Beijing.[1][2]
Despite Lam's denial of any political calculation, the delay was seen by pro-democrats as politically motivated, who aimed to achieve a "35+" majority (obtaining more than 35 out of the 70 seats in the Legislative Council) by riding the 2019 District Council landslide on a wave of massive protests against the government and concerns about the sweeping new national security law imposed by Beijing on Hong Kong. It was also seen as the latest in a rapid series of aggressive moves by the Beijing authorities to thwart opposition momentum and neutralise the pro-democracy movement.[3] Just prior to the announcement, 12 opposition candidates were disqualified from running in the election and four ex-members of pro-independence student group Studentlocalism aged 16 to 21 were arrested under the new national security law for making pro-independence posts on social media.
- ^ "LegCo General Election postponed for a year". Hong Kong Government. 31 July 2020.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
postponewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Ramzy, Austin (31 July 2020). "Hong Kong Delays Election, Citing Coronavirus. The Opposition Isn't Buying It". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 5 January 2021.