By Joseph Li (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-11-20 09:34

DAB Chairman Tam Yiu-chung (second from right), flanked by deputy chairpersons (from left) Ann Chiang, Ip Kwok-him, Lau Kong-wah and Greg So, celebrates the party's overwhelming win in the District Council election yesterday. [China Daily]

The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) has emerged as the biggest winner of the 2007 District Council (DC) Election, snatching 115 seats with a team of 177 candidates. The party registered its record success rate of 65 percent in its history of DC elections. Not only has the DAB succeeded in winning seats in each of the 18 district councils, the party also recovered more ground than it lost four years ago by achieving a net increase of 32 seats.

On the other hand, the opposition camp fared poorly. The Democratic Party (DP) lost one-third of its seats while the Association for Democracy and the People's Livelihood (ADPL) saw its number of seats drop to 18 from 25.

The DP's dismal performance prompted the party chairman Albert Ho and election committee chairman Lee Wing-tat to tender their resignation. ADPL chairman Frederick Fung was reported to be stepping down owning responsibility for the defeat. But the DP's executive committee has asked Ho to stay on.

Even before the official announcement, the DAB had known that it had secured 115 seats.

Meeting the press yesterday morning, party chairman Tam Yiu-chung said the result was a bit beyond their expectation. He thanked the voters for their support.

Speaking about their success, he said the 'big climate' has changed a lot as people are attaching greater importance to social stability and harmony.

"We feel that district councilors should focus on livelihood issues and help the local residents to resolve district issues," Tam said. "After the election, we will enhance communication with the government and hope the tax-relief proposals we put forward will be accepted by the government because they are a reflection of people's wishes."

Meanwhile, academics attributed the DAB's success to its good record of community services at district level and the DP's failure to provide efficient district services.

Ivan Choy, senior instructor of the Chinese University's Department of Government and Public Administration, said it was the Democratic Party's most humiliating defeat in over 10 years as it managed only 59 seats from 108 candidates. The party has not only lost a number of seats in Kowloon East and West elections, some of its veteran district councilors have lost to DAB first-timers.

James Sung, academic co-coordinator of the City University of Hong Kong, said that the DAB emerged as the big winner because the party was determined to recover the lost grounds after their defeat in 2003. They have won the people's support through sheer hard work. They even knocked down the ADPL, who has its roots at the districts.

A record 1.14 million voters cast their ballots at Sunday's election for which 3.29 million people registered to vote.

Of the 866 candidates, only 41 were returned uncontested with the rest having to fight their way through the election. Together with the 102 appointed members and 27 ex-officio members (who are chairmen of rural committees), the 405 elected members will form the 18 District Councils, which will begin their new four-year term from January 1, 2008.