The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) is a pro-Beijing conservative political party registered since 1992 in Hong Kong. Chaired by Gary Chan and holding 13 Legislative Council seats, it is currently the largest party in the legislature and in terms of membership, far ahead of other parties. It has been a key supporting force to the SAR administration and the central government's policies on Hong Kong.
The Democratic Party (DP) is a centre-left liberal political party in Hong Kong. Chaired by Lo Kin-hei, it is the flagship party in the pro-democracy camp and currently has no elected representatives in the District Councils.
The Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood (ADPL) is a Hong Kong pro-democracy social-liberal political party catering to grassroots interest with a strong basis in Sham Shui Po. Established on 26 October 1986, it was one of the three major pro-democracy groups along with the Meeting Point and the Hong Kong Affairs Society in the 1980s.
Civil Force is a district-based pro-Beijing political party in Hong Kong. Since 2014, the Civil Force has entered an alliance with the New People's Party of Regina Ip. Headed by chairman Pun Kwok-shan, it had its stronghold in the Sha Tin and Sai Kung Districts and had once the majority of seats in the Sha Tin District Council until its total defeat in 2019.
Emily Lau Wai-hing, JP is a politician in Hong Kong who champions press freedom and human rights. A former journalist, she became the first woman directly elected on the Legislative Council of Hong Kong in the 1991 LegCo elections. She has served as Legislative Councillor for the New Territories East Constituency throughout the 1990s and 2000s until she stepped down in 2016. She was chairperson of the Democratic Party of Hong Kong until 2016.
Frederick Fung Kin-kee, SBS, JP is a former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong from 1991 to 1997 and from 2000 to 2016 and the former chairman of the pro-democracy Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood (ADPL) from 1989 to 2007.
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 United Democrats of Hong Kong was the first political party in Hong Kong. Founded in 1990, the short-lived party was the united front of the liberal democracy forces in preparation of the 1991 first ever direct election for the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. The party won a landslide victory by sweeping 12 of the 18 directly elected seats in the election which shook the political landscape of Hong Kong. In 1994 it was merged with another pro-democracy party Meeting Point to form the contemporary Democratic Party.
The Kowloon West geographical constituency was one of the five geographical constituencies of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong from 1998 to 2021. It was established in 1998 for the first SAR Legislative Council election and was abolished under the 2021 overhaul of the Hong Kong electoral system. In the 2016 Legislative Council election, it elected six members of the Legislative Council using the Hare quota of party-list proportional representation. It had 602,733 registered electorates in 2020. The constituency corresponded to the districts of Yau Tsim Mong, Sham Shui Po, and Kowloon City.
The 2000 Hong Kong Legislative Council election was held on 10 September 2000 for members of the 2nd Legislative Council (LegCo) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). The election returned 24 members from directly elected geographical constituencies, 6 seats from the Election Committee constituency and 30 members from functional constituencies, of which 9 uncontested.
The 1998 Hong Kong Legislative Council election was held on 24 May 1998 for members of the 1st Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo) since the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) in 1997. Replacing the Provisional Legislative Council (PLC) strictly controlled by the Beijing government and boycotted by the pro-democracy camp, the elections returned 20 members from directly elected geographical constituencies, 10 seats from the Election Committee constituency and 30 members from functional constituencies, of which 10 were uncontested.
The 2012 Hong Kong Legislative Council election was held on 9 September 2012 for the 5th Legislative Council (LegCo) since the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
The 1995 Hong Kong Legislative Council election for members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo) was held on 17 September 1995. It was the first, and only, fully elected legislative election in the colonial period before transferring Hong Kong's sovereignty to China two years later. The elections returned 20 members from directly elected geographical constituencies, 30 members from indirectly elected functional constituencies, and 10 members from elections committee constituency who were elected by all District Board members.
The Fifth Legislative Council of Hong Kong was the fifth meeting of the legislative branch of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. The membership of the LegCo is based on the 2012 election. The term of the session is from 1 October 2012 to 30 September 2016, during the term in office of the Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying. Due to the new arrangements agreed in a contentious LegCo vote in 2010, the session consists of the new total of 70 seats in LegCo, ten more than previously, with 35 members elected in geographical constituencies through direct elections, and 35 members in functional constituencies, in which five District Council (Second) functional constituency seats each represent all 18 District councils of Hong Kong voted for by all resident voters in Hong Kong. The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong remained the largest party while the pan-democrats secured the one-third crucial minority. Notable new members of the LegCo members include Gary Fan from the new established party Neo Democrats and first openly gay councillor, People Power's Ray Chan Chi-chuen.
The Fourth Legislative Council of Hong Kong was the fourth meeting of the legislative branch of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. The membership of the LegCo is based on the 2008 election. The term of the session is from 1 October 2008 to 30 September 2012, during the second half of the Donald Tsang's administration and first two months of the Leung Chun-ying's term in office. The meeting place was moved from the Legislative Council Building to the new built Legislative Council Complex in 2011. The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong remained the largest party with 10 seats. Notable newcomers to the Legislative Council included Regina Ip, Priscilla Leung, Wong Yuk-man, Tanya Chan, and Paul Tse.
The 1994 Hong Kong electoral reform was a set of significant constitutional changes in the last years of British colonial rule in Hong Kong before the handover of its sovereignty to the People's Republic of China (PRC) on 1 July 1997. The reform aimed at broadening the electorate base of the three-tiers elections in 1994 and 1995, namely the 1994 District Board elections, the 1995 Urban and Regional Council elections and the 1995 Legislative Council election. It was the flagship policy of the last colonial governor Chris Patten.
The Third Legislative Council of Hong Kong was the meeting of the legislative branch of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. The membership of the LegCo is based on the 2004 election. The term of the session was from 1 October 2004 to 30 September 2008, during the second half of the Tung Chee-hwa's administration until his resignation in 2005 and was replaced by Donald Tsang for the rest of the term, and also the beginning of the third term of Chief Executive after Tsang won in the 2007 Election. The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) became the largest party with 10 seats. Notable newcomers to the Legislative Council included Leung Kwok-hung, Alan Leong, Ronny Tong, Albert Cheng, and Jeffrey Lam.
The Second Legislative Council of Hong Kong was the meeting of the legislative branch of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. The membership of the LegCo is based on the 2000 election. The term of the session was from 1 October 2000 to 30 September 2004, during the latter half of the first term of the Tung Chee-hwa's administration and the most of the Tung's second term in office. The pro-democratic Democratic Party remained the largest party with 13 seats. Notable newcomers to the Legislative Council included Wong Sing-chi, Michael Mak, Li Fung-ying, Lo Wing-lok, Abraham Shek, Tommy Cheung and Audrey Eu who won the seat vacated by Gary Cheng in the 2000 Hong Kong Island by-election.
On 11 November 2020, 15 Hong Kong pro-democracy members of the Legislative Council announced their resignations in protest against the decision of the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) which bars Legislative Council members from supporting Hong Kong independence, refusing to recognise Beijing's sovereignty over Hong Kong, seeking help from "foreign countries or foreign forces to interfere in the affairs of the region" or committing "other acts that endanger national security" that resulted in the disqualification of pro-democracy legislators Alvin Yeung, Dennis Kwok, Kwok Ka-ki and Kenneth Leung. In July 2020, the four had been barred from running in the subsequently postponed Legislative Council election originally scheduled for September 2020. The resignation en masse left the Legislative Council membership dwindled to 43 out of the total number of 70 seats, with virtually no opposition for the first time since the 1997 handover.
The 1998 Financial Services by-election was originally scheduled on 5 November 1998 after impeachment of the incumbent Legislative Councillor Chim Pui-chung for conspiring to forge documents. Fung Chi-kin from the Hong Kong Progressive Alliance and was declared elected on 16 October after uncontested, retaining the seat for the pro-Beijing camp. This was the first legislative by-election after the handover of Hong Kong.
