Hong Kong Legislative Elections

Hong Kong Legislative Elections

Legislative elections are held in Hong Kong whenever the Legislative Council needs renewal.

The LEGCO is governed by Article 73 of the Basic Law, the Legislative Council of the HKSAR exercises the following powers and functions.

The Council meets every Wednesday afternoon in the Chamber of the Legislative Council Building to conduct its business while in session.

They can be held either at the expiry of a term (every four years) or if the Chief Executive dissolves the legislature and calls a new election.

Hotly contested elections for the geographical constituencies were held in 2004 and in 2008. The next will be in 2012.

Members of the Legislative Council also play important functions of scrutinizing bills, controlling public expenditure and monitoring Government's performance.

The LEGCO also has Legislative Council Redress System to receive and handle complaints from members of the public who are aggrieved by Government actions or policies.

The LEGCO elections have been mocked as a weak attempt at democracy and lacks the power to make laws and be the voice of the people of Hong Kong. Even prior to the handover in 1997, the LEGCO played a lesser role to the powerful Executive Council (EXCO) as the real corridor of power in Hong Kong, though reforms made by Governor Chris Patten allowed many more HK people to participate in the functional constituency elections. These reforms were revoked by Beijing after the 1997 handover.