Next district council polls are going to be fierce: CE
Chief Executive John Lee said competition in December's district council election will be fierce. Election officials had received 171 nominations for the 88 seats to be chosen by the public in the geographical constituencies and 228 nominations for the 176 seats in district committees constituencies as the nomination period drew to a close on Monday. "Judging by the numbers, there'll be fierce competition in the direct elections and the district committees constituencies, especially in the direct elections," Lee told reporters ahead of the weekly Executive Council meeting on Tuesday. "Before the District Council Eligibility Review Committee conducts its vetting, 171 hopefuls are competing for 88 seats. That's an average of almost four hopefuls battling for two seats, so competition will be fierce. "As for the district committees constituencies, there are 176 seats in all 18 districts. All 228 hopefuls face competition and no one will be returned uncontested." The DAB and the Federation of Trade Unions have the highest number of nominees, while the Democratic Party, Third Side and the Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood said they could not take part in the election because they could not secure enough nominations from local advisory bodies. The CE also said it's up to election hopefuls to convince others that they are suitable to stand in the elections, adding that those who didn't get nominated should now work to improve themselves. "A candidate will have to respect the decisions of the person who he seeks the nomination from. That is the basic attitude. Whenever we want to convince other people that we are a right person to discharge this public duty, then it is up to [us] to convince people," Lee said. He said the bar has been set high to make sure only the most capable people can become district councillors, adding that the nomination thresholds apply to everyone, regardless of their background.  The polls are to be held on December 10. The new councils will also have 179 appointed and 27 ex-officio members.