Veteran Hong Kong lawmaker Starry Lee Wai-king has been elected president of the Legislative Council, defeating Ronick Chan Chun-ying by a five-vote margin in the first-ever race between two pro-government contenders for the post.
Lee received 47 votes and Chan 42.
One member of the 90-seat legislature was absent from the vote. Election committee representative Simon Hoey Lee was not spotted in the chamber.
Lee succeeds Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen, who stepped down after choosing not to seek re-election in last month’s Legco poll.
Lawmakers voted by secret ballot following a two-hour election forum on Thursday morning, during which both candidates took questions from 21 fellow legislators.
Asked by lawmaker Kenneth Fok Kai-kong about ensuring impartiality in the presidency, both Lee and Chan cited their records of moderating meetings fairly and pledged that, if elected, they would not caucus with their political group or publicly comment on government policies.
Serving as Hong Kong’s sole delegate to the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, Lee said only four of its meetings would overlap with the Legco schedule each year, stressing that her primary focus remained her work as a lawmaker.
