Hong Kong's 2026 Election Committee Subsector Ordinary Elections will be held on November 22, with 1,115 candidates confirmed eligible and 31 of 36 subsectors contested. Behind the competition is a strict set of rules.
Eligibility review. Every candidate must be confirmed by the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee, which checks whether a person upholds the Basic Law and bears allegiance to the SAR. It draws on input from the police National Security Department and the Committee for Safeguarding National Security. Its legal basis includes the Basic Law, the Hong Kong National Security Law and relevant NPCSC interpretations and decisions. A decision based on the National Security Committee's opinion cannot be challenged in court.
Campaign conduct. The ICAC polices the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance. Corrupt conduct includes offering an advantage, food, drink, or entertainment, or using deception to induce or reward someone to vote or not to vote. Illegal conduct includes inciting others not to vote or to cast invalid votes.
Election expenses. Candidates must not exceed the statutory spending limit. Donations, including money and services, count as expenses once used—except voluntary service provided in one's own private time, personally and free of charge.
Election mail. Mail must go to a Hong Kong address, contain only election-related material, and meet weight, size and thickness limits.
The logic is simple: the Election Committee elects the Chief Executive designate and nominates and elects LegCo members, so the process must ensure candidates are eligible, compete within the law, and cannot buy outcomes. Strict rules are not there to catch people out, but to make sure the race is decided on merit—not inducements, deception, or overspending.
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