'Normal not to nominate as many hopefuls as allowed'
The constitutional and mainland affairs chief, Erick Tsang, on Saturday said it is normal that members of local advisory bodies did not nominate as many district council election hopefuls as they were allowed to.  He told a Commercial Radio programme that it's possible for members of the three district committees – who have the power to nominate candidates – not to use up their quota for nominations. "Each of the 44 [geographical] constituencies can produce five to ten candidates. Currently, we have four candidates per constituency on average, so it's normal that members of district committees did not nominate as many hopefuls as they are each allowed to," Tsang said. "This is not a problem with the system. Each constituency can have up to 10 candidates, but the problem is there isn't that many people running in the election." The District Council Eligibility Review Committee announced on Friday that all 399 people seeking to join next month's elections have been deemed to be valid candidates. The new councils will also have 179 appointed and 27 ex-officio members.  Tsang said the administration is looking for suitable members to appoint, and stressed that these people will have to undergo an eligibility review before they take office.  Appointments will be announced at around the same time that election results are in, he added.  "We will not take into account election results when appointing members. We will appoint members based on the situation and the needs of the district," he said.  In a separate televised interview, Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) commissioner Danny Woo said the anti-graft body has not received any complaints regarding the upcoming polls.  Asked about whether there would be a higher risk of bribery with candidates having to secure nominations from local advisory bodies, Woo refused to make any "unfounded assumptions," but said the ICAC is responsible for strictly enforcing the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance.  "After new rules took effect in 2021, we have strictly enforced the law and successfully charged 10 people, all of whom were convicted," he told HOY TV. "I believe our law enforcement and court rulings have sent an important message to the public. All actions that undermine or manipulate elections, calling for other to cast a blank or invalid vote, or simply repost relevant messages, these are all illegal."  Woo added that the anti-corruption agency would deploy more than 800 staff members on election day.