• Thu   • Dec 25, 2014   • Updated: 6:24pm  By-elections given a
no-vote  PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 18 May, 2011, 12:00am UPDATED :
Wednesday, 18 May, 2011, 12:00am  The government has a plan to
stop lawmakers using by-elections to stage 'referendums' - by
scrapping by-elections in geographical constituencies.  In a
proposal announced yesterday, a vacant seat in the Legislative
Council arising from the resignation or death of a legislator
would be filled by the next best placed candidate at the
previous election.  In January last year, five Civic Party and
League of Social Democrats lawmakers resigned to trigger by-
elections they hoped would be a de facto referendum on political
reform. But the other main political parties did not put up
candidates, and all five were voted back into office last May.
Turnout was just 17.1 per cent and the government said the by-
election, which cost HK$126 million, had been unnecessary.
Candidates in geographical constituencies need a certain number
of votes to get elected; when