Wong Kam-fai Resigns｜Legislative Council Returns to 89 Seats Again Opinions Differ on Whether a By-election Is Needed Scholars: It’s Fine if One or Two People Are Fewer

Wong Kam-fai, who joined the Legislative Council through a by-election at the end of 2022, resigned after only half a year in his second stint, due to issues including alleged drunk driving. The Legislative Council has again shrunk to 89 seats. The pro-establishment camp and scholars hold different views on whether a by-election should be held at this stage. Some hope the by-election will be arranged as soon as possible, while others worry that using a large amount of public funds to hold a by-election because of an individual's fault will trigger public backlash.

Wong Kam-fai Resigns | Constitutional Affairs Bureau: Maintain Communication with the Electoral Affairs Commission and Consider By-election Arrangements in a Timely Manner Based on Actual Circumstances

When responding to our enquiry today (the 4th), the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau said as usual that it would maintain communication with the Electoral Affairs Commission and consider the relevant arrangements in a timely manner according to the actual situation. It added that the government will continue to cooperate sincerely with the Eighth Legislative Council, and that, in line with the principles of executive-led governance and “patriots administering Hong Kong,” the executive and the legislature will work together to build a better Hong Kong.

Wong Kam-fai Resigns | Lau Siu-kai Worries That Spending Large Amounts of Public Funds on a By-election Due to Personal Fault May Face a Social Backlash

Wong Kam-fai resigned after only half a year since taking office as a member of the Legislative Council this term. Lau Siu-kai, an adviser to the National Hong Kong and Macao Studies Association, assessed that no by-election would be held as a result. He said openly that, after one person commits a serious fault, it may lead to a social backlash if large amounts of public funds are used to hold another by-election. He believes that losing one or two people is not a problem—just as no by-election was held after the resignation of Wong Yuen-shan, a member of the Election Committee constituency in the previous term.

▲ After Wong Kam-fai’s resignation, the Legislative Council has again become 89 seats. (Illustrative photo)

Wong Kam-fai Resigns | Regina Ip Hopes for an Early By-election; Ronny Tong: Must Consider Legislative Council Operations, etc.

Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, convener of the Executive Council and chairperson of the New People’s Party, meanwhile hopes that a by-election will be held as soon as possible. She believes the new legislature has been operating only for a few months, with more than three years still left. She considers that the scale of a Legislative Council by-election would not be too large and that the demand for resources would not be too high. Another Election Committee member, who did not wish to be named, said that if a by-election is to be held, consideration could be given to conducting it concurrently with the Election Committee election in September, in order to save public funds.

Ronny Tong Kai-hang, a member of the Executive Council and a senior counsel, also supports holding a by-election. He believes there is still a considerable length of time left in the term. However, he said the by-election would have to take into account factors such as spending public funds and the operation of the Legislative Council, stressing that he would respect the approach of the SAR government.

Wong Kam-fai Resigns | Executive Council Member: Consider Only After the HKSAR Government’s Leadership Change Next Year

There are also Executive Council members who believe that no by-election will be held at this stage, but rather will be considered after the HKSAR government undergoes its leadership change next year—after which they will see whether more legislators switch tracks and enter the government, and then hold another by-election all at once.

In the previous Legislative Council term, a by-election was held on December 18, 2022, because three legislators switched tracks to become officials. Wong Kam-fai was one of those who took part in that by-election and advanced to become a member of the Election Committee constituency. On December 27 of the same year, Wong Yuen-shan, then a member of the Election Committee constituency, resigned after taking up the post of director of the Chief Executive’s Policy Unit. The government did not hold another by-election. When the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau was asked repeatedly about when a by-election would be held, it only said it would consider it according to the actual circumstances. Ultimately, the Legislative Council maintained 89 seats until the term-change election last year.