Edward Leung, pictured last month, filed his writ at the High Court today. Hong Kong independence advocate Edward Leung Tin-kei, whose candidacy in New Territories East in last month’s Legislative Council elections was disqualified, is challenging the constitutionality of the government’s decision about a month after the polls.
In a petition filed at the High Court on Friday, Leung claimed the decision was “unconstitutional” and amounted to “an unreasonable restriction” of his rights to be elected under the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance.
Outside court, Leung said he expected the hearing would start a year from now. “I have no idea how long it will last,” he said. “It will be a long battle.”
Yet he was confident of success. “Nine out of 10 people with legal knowledge would think I’d win,” he said, adding if the court ruled in his favour within two to three years a by-election might be possible.
Leung said he did not want to answer whether he still supported independence. He said the topic “had given him enough trouble”. But he admitted he had discussed policies with Sixtus “Baggio” Leung Chung-hang, the newly elected lawmaker for New Territories East from localist political group Youngspiration.
The Hong Kong Indigenous leader’s candidacy was invalidated by the Electoral Affairs Commission in August on the grounds that he advocated that Hong Kong split from China.
The decision came despite Leung’s making a U-turn from his previous stance. He even signed a “confirmation form” from the commission reinforcing his acceptance of Hong Kong’s status as an inalienable part of China.
In his petition, Leung challenges the Electoral Affairs Commission’s legal right to decide or enquire whether he was genuine or had sincere intentions in signing the declaration in his nomination form.
“The decision constitutes a material irregularity in that the outcome of the New Territories East election might have been affected by it,” Leung said in his petition.
Leung is asking the court to determine whether the candidates for his constituency declared by the returning officer to be elected were “duly elected”.
Responsible returning officer Cora Ho Lai-sheung of the commission was named a co-defendant along with all nine elected lawmakers in the geographical constituency. They included Lam Cheuk-ting, “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung, Elizabeth Quat and Eunice Yung Hoi-yan.
Leung was one of six Legco aspirants barred from running in the elections held last month.
He lodged a judicial review against the Electoral Affairs Commission on July 25, claiming the returning officers had no right to decide on the validity of his nomination. But the High Court on July 27 refused to immediately hear his legal challenge to the controversial new electoral rule.
Hong Kong National Party convenor Chan Ho-tin, the first aspirant disqualified from the polls over his pro-independence stance, earlier mounted a legal challenge against the government decision.
The first of the group to pursue a claim against the Electoral Affairs Commission, Chan filed a separate petition on September 9 to ask the High Court to determine whether the winners of New Territories West, the geographical constituency he sought to contest, had been duly elected. He asked the court to declare their victories void if it judged they had not been.
Other rejected candidates included the Democratic Progressive Party’s Yeung Ke-cheong and independence advocate Nakade Hitsujiko.