Future chief executive (CE) candidates should be elected through universal suffrage after being nominated by a broadly representative nominating committee with democratic procedures.

This is the consensus of the Commission on Strategic Development (CSD), Chief Executive (CE) Donald Tsang said yesterday after chairing the fifth meeting of CSD's Committee on Governance and Political Development.

Tsang urged political parties and community sectors to narrow their differences for further consensus on universal suffrage.

Committee members have agreed that future CE candidates should be nominated by a broadly representative committee in accordance with democratic procedures before being elected by the public, which was in line with the Basic Law, Tsang said.

"Today's discussions (at the CSD meeting) are a pragmatic step forward in reaching that goal (universal suffrage). At previous meetings, we had discussed the principles underpinning universal suffrage in Hong Kong. Today we talked about specific details. So, we have now entered a new phase of work," he said.

Nomination details

Members have agreed that the commission will study the nomination arrangements in detail, particularly the process of forming such a nominating committee and the mechanism for nominating the CE.

A paper submitted by the Constitutional Affairs Bureau to CSD on Monday said views on the composition of the nominating committee and on the method of nomination were divided. But there were suggestions to use the composition of the Election Committee that selected the CE as the blueprint.

Opinion on the number of members the nominating committee should have was diverse, with some suggesting 800 members, while others wanting it to be anything between 1,000 to 5,000 members.

Tsang promised to convey the aspirations of Hong Kong people and the proposals from various sectors of society to the central government.

But, he said, it would not be appropriate for the SAR government to put forward a preference now because it was necessary to allow different organizations and individuals to express their views before a final conclusion was drawn.

"We are going to push ahead as quickly as possible. We are at the stage of deliberating various ways of electing a CE and later for electing the Legislative Council (LegCo) under universal suffrage. I am sure once we have decided on a model, a way of reaching that destination and the speed at which to do so too will emerge easily," he said.

Tsang urged community members to be accommodative to different views, which was a pre-requisite for reaching a consensus.

The Basic Law requires that any change in the method to elect the CE and LegCo must be agreed upon by three parties, including the CE, two-thirds of LegCo members and the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC).

"We will have little chance of improving our electoral system, and ultimately achieving universal suffrage, if everybody insists on his or her own views and refuses to hear others out," Tsang said.

"Only if we can pragmatically narrow our differences and reach a consensus will it be possible for us to achieve universal suffrage at an early date," he said.

The commission will draw conclusions on its discussions and prepare a report next year. The concluding report will be made public and submitted to the central government.

Tsang said the report would provide a foundation for taking political development beyond 2007.

(China Daily HK edition August 1, 2006)