DAB wants voter registration extended due to virus

DAB chairwoman Starry Lee (right) says the Legco polls in September are too important to be missed so more time should be given to people to register as new voters. Photo: RTHK

The DAB has urged election authorities to delay by a month the deadlines for people to sign up as new voters or change their registration particulars because of the coronavirus epidemic.



Starry Lee, chairwoman of the pro-Beijing party, said on Monday that people have been focusing on the Covid-19 outbreak rather than voter registration in the past few months.



The deadline for people to make changes to their registration information, such as home address, is this Thursday, while new voters who want to be able to cast a ballot in September’s Legislative Council elections need to register by May 2.



Lee said the upcoming Legco elections are too important for people to miss, noting that opposition councillors have vowed to vote down every government bill and paralyse Legco should they win a majority.



"We have faced a double blow – the social unrest and the coronavirus," she said. "We all know that the Hong Kong situation is quite bad now, economically and generally speaking."