The election slogan of the Pro-democracy candidates in Hong Kong was “35 plus”. The hope was to gain at this year’s European Parliament elections for the first time in history, the majority in the house of representatives. Nothing will come of it now. Chief Secretary Carrie Lam announced on Friday a postponement of the elections by a whole year. As a reason, she called the Corona pandemic. The Opposition considers this to be a pretext. The activist, Joshua Wong, spoke of the “largest electoral fraud in the history of Hong Kong”.

Friederike Böge

Political correspondent for East Asia.

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The authority for a postponement of the election, the government derives a boss from the Hong Kong emergency regulation, which dates from the British colonial period. You are the head of government in situations that he or she is considered “emergency or public danger”, the right “to adopt any regulation” in the public interest.

Already on Thursday, Hong Kong’s government had excluded twelve of the most promising candidates of the pro-democratic camp of the now postponed election. In the light of recent developments, the Federal government decided on Friday that the extradition agreement with Hong Kong to be suspended, as from a statement by the foreign Minister, Heiko Maas shows. The decision, twelve candidates from the election and to postpone the election was “a further incision into the rights of the citizens of Hong Kong,” it States. They follow the arrest of three activists and one activist, citing the new security law,”the us very worried”.

In the Wake of the postponement of the election of the delegates Carrie Lam, at the same time a decision on extending the mandates of incumbent parliamentarians from four to five years to the people’s Congress in Beijing. In the Hong Kong basic law, the mandate is expressly limited to four years. The postponement of the election could be challenged legally. Beijing, however, reserves the ultimate right for the Interpretation of the Hong Kong Constitution.

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test is Probably not a coincidence that the Standing Committee in Beijing from the 8. to 11. August to an unscheduled meeting. As the special session was announced a few days ago, evaluated observers this already as an indication that the General election would be postponed and the people’s Congress the task in having, article 69 of the Hong Kong basic law to overturn it. The Central government expressed on Friday its support for the decision and described it as a legal, necessary and reasonable.

Carrie Lam said in her press conference, the choice to move was a “very, very heavy decision”, which has only been for the sake of public health. “There were no political considerations.” For the past three weeks, the city is struggling with a new outbreak, the last daily more than 100 new infections were reported. The risk of Infection for millions of voters, the on 6. September would have been called to the urns, was too high, said Carrie Lam.

in Addition, many voters were working on the Chinese mainland and because of the quarantine requirements problems would have to come to Hong Kong. “Some people have said that they would not resort to legal action, if I move the elections,” said Carrie Lam. It is the second Time that they ruled with the help of the emergency regulation. The first Time you have had in the past year, a goddamn mask ban, which was directed against Gas and face masks, served as demonstrators. It was out of the race, however, largely ineffective. Previously, the emergency regulation had been applied after its entry into force in 1922 by the colonial administration only twice.