Elections in Hong Kong take place when certain political offices in the government need to be filled. Hong Kong has a multi-party system, with numerous parties in the Legislative Council. The Chief Executive of Hong Kong is nonpartisan but has to work with several parties to form a coalition government.
Legislative elections are held in Hong Kong every four years Legislative Council (LegCo) in accordance with Article 69 of the Basic Law. Legislative elections are held either at the expiry of a four-year term or when the Chief Executive dissolves the legislature and calls a new election.
The Election Committee is a Hong Kong electoral college, the function of which is to select the Chief Executive (CE) and, since 2021, to elect 40 of the 90 members of the Legislative Council. Established by Annex I of the Basic Law of Hong Kong which states that "the Chief Executive shall be elected by a broadly representative Election Committee in accordance with this Law and appointed by the Central People's Government ." It is formed and performs its selection function once every five years, even in the event of a CE not completing their term. The membership of the Election Committee was expanded to 1,500 under the massive overhaul of the electoral system in 2021. The Election Committee has been criticised for its "small-circle" electoral basis and its composition favouring pro-Beijing and business interests.
Maria Tam Wai-chu is a senior Hong Kong politician and lawyer. She is a member of the Committee for the Basic Law of the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) since 1997 and the chairman of the Operations Review Committee of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) since 2015.
The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon. These services were provided by the council's executive arm, the Urban Services Department. Later, the equivalent body for the New Territories was the Regional Council.
On 4 December 2005, tens of thousands of people in Hong Kong protested for democracy and called on the Government to allow universal and equal suffrage. The protesters demanded the right to directly elect the Chief Executive and all the seats of the Legislative Council. They also urged the government to abolish the appointed seats of the district councils, in response to the limitations of the government's reform proposal.
The 2008 Hong Kong Legislative Council election was held on 7 September 2008 for the 4th Legislative Council since the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. There were 60 seats in the 4th Legislative Council, with 30 members elected by geographical constituencies through direct elections, and 30 members by functional constituencies. Candidates for 14 functional constituency seats were unopposed.
The 1952 Hong Kong Urban Council election was held on 30 May 1952 for the two elected seats of the Urban Council of Hong Kong. It was the first Urban Council election since the end of the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, the previous election having been held in 1940. Barrister Brook Bernacchi of the Reform Club of Hong Kong and William Louey, chief manager of Kowloon Motor Bus won the two seats.
The 1977 Hong Kong Urban Council election was held on 3 March 1977 for the six of the 12 elected seats of the Urban Council of Hong Kong. 7,308 voters cast ballots, 19.7 per cent of the 37,174 registered electorate, about 3,000 less than last election and the lowest turnout in ten years.
The 1986 Hong Kong Urban Council and Regional Council elections were the municipal elections held on 6 March 1986 for the elected seats of the Urban Council for Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and New Kowloon and newly created Regional Council for the rest of the New Territories respectively.
The 1983 Hong Kong Urban Council election was held on 8 March 1983 for the elected seats of the Urban Council. It marked the centenary of the establishment of the Urban Council and the largely reformed electoral methods with the creation of the district-based constituencies and massive expansion of the electorate.
The 1955 Hong Kong Urban Council election was held on 30 March 1955 for the two of the four elected seats of the Urban Council of Hong Kong. It was the fourth Urban Council election in the post-war period.
The 1956 Hong Kong Urban Council election was held on 7 March 1956. The elected seats were extended from four to eight seats and the election was for the 6 of the 8 elected seats of the Urban Council of Hong Kong. 6,040 of the 14,682, about 41 per cent of the eligible voters cast their ballots in this election, highest turnout rate in the history of the Urban Council elections.
The 1959 Hong Kong Urban Council election was held on 3 March 1959 for the four of the eight elected seats of the Urban Council of Hong Kong. The turnout rate dropped to 30.7 per cent but there were still 7,236 of the 23,584 eligible voters cast their votes, 5,354 ballots from Hong Kong Island and 1,882 from Kowloon. Ernest Charles Wong, chairman of the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals won a seat for the Hong Kong Civic Association of which Philip Au of the Reform Club of Hong Kong retired from, while the other three Club incumbents were re-elected.
The 1965 Hong Kong Urban Council election was held on 3 March 1965 for the six of the ten elected seats of the Urban Council of Hong Kong after the membership of the elected members increased from eight to ten.
The 1967 Hong Kong Urban Council election was held on 7 June 1967 for the five of the ten elected seats of the Urban Council of Hong Kong. A record of 38.7 per cent turnout as 10,130 of the 26,202 eligible voters came out and cast their ballots, in the middle of the Leftists' disturbances.
The 1969 Hong Kong Urban Council election was held on 5 March 1969 for the five of the ten elected seats of the Urban Council of Hong Kong. 8,178 of 34,392 registered voters voted, the turnout rate was 23.8 per cent, a sharp decline from the record breaking turnout in the previous election in 1967.
The 1994 Hong Kong District Board elections were held on 18 September 1994 for all 18 districts of Hong Kong and 346 members from directly elected constituencies. It was the last district-level elections in the colonial period before the handover of Hong Kong in 1997. It was the first elections to be held after the abolition of the appointed seats as proposed by the new electoral arrangements, as the last step of the democratisation by the then Governor Chris Patten before the handover.
The 1973 Hong Kong Urban Council election was held on 7 March 1973 for the seven of the 12 elected seats of the Urban Council of Hong Kong. Two new elected seats were created in the election. 8,675 eligible voters cast their votes, the turnout rate was 27.64 per cent.
The 2015 Hong Kong District Council elections were held on 22 November 2015. Elections were held to all 18 District Councils with returning 431 members from directly elected constituencies after all appointed seats had been abolished.
9.85%
