1963 Hong Kong municipal election

The 1963 Urban Council election was held on 7 March 1963 for the 4 of the 8 elected seats of the Urban Council of Hong Kong. Elsie Elliott, educator and social activist was first elected to the council on the Reform Club ticket, while lawyer Cheung Wing-in became the new elected member for the Hong Kong Civic Association.

1963 Hong Kong municipal election

7 March 1963
4 (of the 8) elected seats to the Urban Council
Registered	25,837
Turnout	5,320 (20.59%)
First party Second party   Leader Woo Pak-foo Brook Bernacchi Party Civic Reform Seats before 4 3 Seats after 4 3 Seat change Popular vote 2,565 5,177 Percentage 19.53% 39.43% Swing 4.92pp 8.24pp

Overview

The polling stations increased to four in this year. City Hall in Central, headquarter of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps in Happy Valley, East wing of the Star Ferry Pier in South Kowloon and North Kowloon Magistracy in North Kowloon. 5,320 of the 25,837 eligible electorates came out and voted which was about 20.6%.

The Civic–Reform Coalition continued and the seats were divided by these two groups. Elsie Elliott, prominent social activist at the time, was elected to the council for the first time representing the Reform Club, succeeding Dr. Alison Bell. The other Club candidate Dr. Raymond Harry Shoon Lee was re-elected and the last seat went to Cheung Wing-in from the Association who replaced Ernest Charles Wong.

Chan Shu-woon, a former Reform Club member quit the Club in 1963 ran as an Independent in the election. Brook Bernacchi, leader of the Reform Club later on sued Chan for alleged corruption during the election campaign.[1][2] Chan subsequently resigned from the office in 1964 and departed Hong Kong for the United States.

Results

Urban Council Election 1963

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Independent	Chan Shu-woon	4,006	30.51	+10.61
	Reform	Raymond Harry Shoon Lee	2,831	21.56	+8.15
	Civic	Cheung Wing-in	2,565	19.54	+7.89
	Reform	Elsie Elliott	2,287	17.42
	Independent	Lee Sheung-pui	1,382	13.74	+8.85
	Reform	Napoleon C.Y. Ng	59	0.45
Turnout			5,320	20.59

By-election

There was a by-election took place in 1964 for the vacant seat of Chan Shu-woon.

Napoleon Ng representing Civic–Reform Union ran against Independent Solomon Rafeek and got defeated. The Reform Club accused some members of the Civic Association had used their influential to back up Rafeek who was already a member of that Association. The Club found this unacceptable within the terms of the Coalition, and became one of the reasons for the Union being dissolved.[3] Rafeek formally joined the Civic Association in April.

Citations

1. "撤銷控陳樹桓案 法官要解釋理由". Tak Kung Pao. 8 July 1963. p. 4.
2. "控陳樹桓競選議員違例案 原訴人請求撤回控訴". Kung Sheung Daily News. 8 July 1963. p. 6.
3. Reform Club of Hong Kong (1949). Memorandum and articles of Association of the Reform Club of Hong Kong : incorporated the 20th day of January, 1949. Ts'o & Hodgson.

References

• Lau, Y.W. (2002). A history of the municipal councils of Hong Kong : 1883-1999 : from the Sanitary Board to the Urban Council and the Regional Council. Leisure and Cultural Service Dept.
• Pepper, Suzanne (2008). Keeping Democracy at Bay:Hong Kong and the Challenge of Chinese Political Reform. Rowman & Littlefield.