Chief Secretary Carrie Lam today appealed to pan-democratic legislators to take the public’s aspiration for universal suffrage in the 2017 Chief Executive election into full account when deciding how to vote on the package that the Government will submit for their consideration under the third step of the constitutional reform process.
During a press conference this afternoon on the consultation document covering the electoral methods for the 2017 Chief Executive election, Mrs Lam stressed that the second public consultation needs to abide by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee’s decision made on August 31.
She also made it clear that as far as the legal and constitutional framework is concerned, there is no room for any concessions or compromise to win the support of pan-democratic members.
Despite the legal framework that has been laid down by the NPC Standing Committee, Mrs Lam believes that there is still an opportunity to devise a set of electoral arrangements which are fair, open, transparent and highly competitive, and that provide equal opportunities for eligible candidates seeking nomination.
She urged members to participate in the second reform consultation and seriously consider the proposals to achieve one person, one vote for the 2017 Chief Executive election.
