Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen hopes to fight for the lowest threshold so that more people interested in becoming candidates in the 2017 Chief Executive election may have the chance to stand before the nominating committee.
After attending an event today, Mr Yuen told reporters he is reviewing comments received in the second stage consultation on political reform.
Proposals received suggest several different thresholds for the hopefuls for the 2017 Chief Executive election. They suggest the minimum number of nominations is set at 100 to 150, to secure moving on to the committee’s internal vote that decides the final two or three candidates the public can choose from.
While the proposals are still being reviewed, Mr Yuen stated that the goal is clear: to try to allow more potential candidates entry into the nomination process.
He also hopes to be able to set up procedures to allow the hopefuls to explain their political ideas to the public outside the nominating committee through different media platforms during the nominating stage.
He understands many people are still concerned that the implementation of universal suffrage for the Chief Executive election in 2017 will be the end game, and is considering ways to strengthen public confidence and ensure people there can be changes in the process after 2017.
The report on constitutional reform and the proposal that flows from it are expected to be submitted to the Legislative Council in April, he added.
