September election postponed to late 2021
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Friday announced that she is delaying the election planned for September 6 because of mounting concern about the coronavirus pandemic.
She said the election would be held on September 5,2021.
“Today I announce the most difficult decision in the last seven months… to postpone the Legislative Council election,” Lam told reporters.
“The epidemic is posing a serious risk to Hong Kong. The election is unique, the biggest in Hong Kong,” Lam said, adding that going through with the election would pose a risk to a great number of people.
A group of 22 lawmakers issued a statement accusing the Hong Kong administration of using the outbreak as an excuse to delay the vote.
“Our resistance will continue on and we hope the world can stand with us in the upcoming uphill battle,” Joshua Wong, one of the city’s most prominent pro-democracy figures, told reporters. “They can’t kill us all.”
A political and legal controversy
DW correspondent Phoebe Kong said the pro-democracy activists believed the pandemic was being used as an excuse to delay the election.
