1983 Hong Kong municipal election

The 1983 Hong Kong Urban Council election was held on 8 March 1983 for the elected seats of the Urban Council. It marked the centenary of the establishment of the Urban Council and the largely reformed electoral methods with the creation of the district-based constituencies and massive expansion of the electorate.

1983 Hong Kong municipal election

← 1981 8 March 1983 1986 →

15 (of the 30) seats to the Urban Council
Registered708,119
Turnout127,206 (22.37%)
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Hilton Cheong-Leen Brook Bernacchi Frederick Fung
Party Civic Reform PCPHP
Leader's seat Wan Chai Shau Kei Wan Sham Shui Po East
Last election 4 seats, 45.35% 2 seats, 28.29% New party
Seats won 4 2 2
Seat change Steady Increase1 Increase2
Popular vote 23,576 19,520 13,894
Percentage 18.58% 15.38% 10.98%
Swing Decrease26.77pp Decrease12.91pp N/A

Chairman before election

Hilton Cheong-Leen
Civic

Elected Chairman

Hilton Cheong-Leen
Civic

Overview

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1983 marked the centenary of the Urban Council. Elections for the certain numbers of seats in the Urban Council had been held since 1888, but the electorates were strictly limited to the residents on the jurors list or with certain professions. All elected members were voted in a single constituency.

Since the colonial government began the reform on the district administrations on the eve of the Sino-British negotiation over the Hong Kong sovereignty after 1997, the 1983 election marked a major change of the Urban Council. The elected members increased from 12 to 15 whilst the appointed members increased from 12 to 15 as well, which increased the total members from 24 to 30. 15 elected members were elected by electorates of each constituency in Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and New Kowloon with single member plurality method. The electorate base was fully extended to all Hong Kong permanent residents over 21 to about 568,000 voters, which made the electorate increased by 17 times.[1]

Despite the two long existing political groups in the Urban Council, the Hong Kong Civic Association and the Reform Club of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong People's Council on Public Housing Policy (PCPHP), a pressure group which devoted itself to the public housing policies also fill in two candidates, vice-chairman Lam Chak-piu in Kwun Tong East and secretary-general Frederick Fung in Sham Shui Po East, which made it the first pressure group to have representative in the election.[2]

Total of 127,303, 22.4 per cent of the eligible voters turned out on the election day on 8 March, where Sham Shui Po recorded the highest turnout of 26.7 per cent and Wong Tai Sin had the second highest of 26 per cent. Eastern District which included the North Point and Shau Kei Wan constituencies recorded the lowest turnout of 20.4 per cent.[1]

Outcome of election

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Political affiliation Standing Elected Popular votes %
Hong Kong Civic Association 7 4 23,576 18.58
Reform Club of Hong Kong 3 3 19,520 15.38
Hong Kong People's Council on Public Housing Policy 2 2 13,894 10.98
Individuals and others 29 6 69,900 55.09
Total (turnout: 22.4%) 41 15 126,498 100.00

Elected members

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District Constituency Candidates Affiliation
Central & Western Central & Western Maria Tam Wai-chu Independent
Wan Chai Wan Chai Hilton Cheong-Leen Civic
Eastern North Point Kwan Lim-ho Reform
Shau Kei Wan Brook Bernacchi Reform
Southern Southern Joseph Chan Yuek-sut Civic
Kowloon City Kowloon City West Peter Chan Chi-kwan Civic
Kowloon City East Pao Ping-wing Independent
Kwun Tong Kwun Tong West Elsie Elliott Independent
Kwun Tong East Lam Chak-piu PCPHP
Mong Kok Mong Kok Chow Wai-hung Civic
Yau Tsim Yau Ma Tei Denny Huang Mong-hwa Independent
Sham Shui Po Sham Shui Po East Frederick Fung Kin-kee PCPHP
Sham Shui Po West Lee Chik-yuet Independent
Wong Tai Sin Wong Tai Sin South Augustine Chung Shai-kit Independent
Wong Tai Sin North Cecilia Yeung Lai-yin Reform

References

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  1. ^ a b "市局選舉今晨揭曉 投票率百份廿二 點票工作今晨三時尚未完畢". The Kung Sheung Daily News. 9 March 1983. p. 1.
  2. ^ "首個壓力團體參選 公屋評議會兩代表 競選今屆市局議席". The Kung Sheung Daily News. 7 January 1983. p. 7.