Govt defends HK$1bn District Council election expense

Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Erick Tsang, on Thursday said spending around HK$1 billion on last year’s District Council elections was worth it as it brought great social benefits. He made the comment at a Legco meeting discussing this year’s budget, when pressed by lawmakers why the bill was much larger than previous elections. New People’s Party lawmaker Lai Tung-kwok noted that for the polls in 2019 and 2015, election officials only spent some HK$400 million. Tsang said for the election last year, a number of new elements were introduced, such as arranging for government appointed district committees, setting up polling stations near the border, selfie spots and a large number of extra counters to give out ballots. “We also did much in staff training. All that required manpower. In running an election, a major expenditure is on manpower,” the minister told lawmakers at the special finance committee meeting. Tsang added that more than a million voters last year, including himself, saved a lot of queuing time compared to the polls in 2019. Therefore, Tsang said the general social benefits were greater despite the bigger expenditure. He also told Third Side lawmaker Tik Chi-yuen that while the government spent more on its large-scale promotion of the polls, it was great value for money as the campaign was remarkably effective.