ICAC Investigates Election Poll

The 2019 District Council elections had record turnout

A few days ago the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute conducted a survey asking Hongkongers what their voting plans were for the upcoming Legislative Council elections on December 19.

But pro-Beijing newspaper Ta Kung Pao accused PORI's pollsters of breaking the law by merely asking how people would vote.

Peh says ICAC looking into allegations

So now the Independent Commission Against Corruption has to look into the allegations, with its commissioner Simon Peh Yun-lu warning the institute may have breached the law when its survey offered the option of casting a blank vote or not vote at all.

Ask to clarify his comments on Saturday, Peh said things would depend on the circumstances.

"I'm not saying that offering such an option in the survey [is] definitely against the law, but I don't know how they would ask the question, how they would collate the data or how they would release the result," Peh said.

"If there is any element which amounts to inciting other people not to vote or to cast an invalid vote openly, publicly, that would be liable under the ordinance."

However, Peh noted it isn't illegal for people to cast blank or invalid ballots.

The survey had found that more than half of registered voters did not know who was running for the upcoming election in their constituency, and that only about 52 percent would go vote.

The survey only polled 838 people

So perhaps the pro-Beijing side is upset at the prospect of an embarrassing low turnout compared to the 2019 election when a record 71 percent of registered voters cast their ballots for the District Council elections.

It is worth mentioning only 838 people were polled when there are over 4.1 million registered voters.

Why be so concerned about what 838 people have to say?

In the meantime the ICAC will duly investigate, but it seems like a storm in a teacup...