Lawmakers lose seats after final appeal quashed

Opposition camp lawmakers Gary Fan Kwok-wai and Au Nok-hin lost their seats in the legislature on Tuesday after the Court of Final Appeal rejected their appeals against a lower court's decision to disqualify them.

The High Court had earlier overturned a ban on activists Agnes Chow Ting and Ventus Lau Wing-hong from running in a Legislative Council by-election last year. It also ruled that Au and Fan, who took the LegCo seats from Chow and Lau, were not duly elected.

Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma Tao-li pointed out the purpose of the election petition filed by the two disqualified candidates was to unseat those elected, but Chow now said Au was her backup person.

Ma stressed that the petition is not a game, but a serious legal procedure. "We are not in your favor," he added.

Lawrence Ma Yan-kwok, chairman of the Hong Kong Legal Exchange Foundation, reckoned it's "highly hypocritical" that Fan and Au had filed the petition to challenge the election results while being content with themselves being elected.

"The court's rulings show that Hong Kong's legal system is still good, impartial and professional that people can repose trust and confidence upon," said Ma.

It is still not known whether the government will arrange a by-election as required by law, as the next legislative elections are due to be held in September next year.

The Legislative Council Ordinance stipulates that a by-election to fill a vacancy in the legislature is not to be held within the four months preceding the end of that council's current term of office.