That the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government announced the suspension of all campaign activities for the Dec 7 Legislative Council election immediately after the outbreak of the deadly Tai Po fire, but not a straightforward decision on whether the election is to be postponed, reflects both decisiveness and prudence.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s Tuesday announcement that the election will go ahead as scheduled is believed to be a decision underpinned by thorough deliberation carried out over the past few days and taking into consideration various factors.

The decision not to postpone the election is warranted, judging from those factors. A delay in the formation of the eighth-term LegCo would bring about the following legal and practical issues.

According to the Legislative Council Ordinance, the election for the next LegCo must be held at least 15 days before the start of the new legislative term on Jan 1. The current-term LegCo will end on Dec 31. That means the government would only be able to postpone the election by 14 days.

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A 14-day postponement would not make much difference in terms of prioritizing post-disaster relief efforts. Post-disaster work is proceeding in a smooth and orderly manner, with all affected residents having been temporarily accommodated and being gradually transferred from shelter centers to temporary housing units. This indicates that an effective mechanism has been established for smooth and continuous relief work.

As severe as it is, the disaster is localized and has not drained the resources of the government and society. The government has the capability to handle different tasks simultaneously. The work in the aftermath of the fire and the election can be effectively handled by different departments simultaneously. The government is capable of allocating enough manpower to manage the Dec 7 voting process efficiently.

The longer-term work following the fire — specifically, tackling the affected families’ permanent housing needs — will most likely last for months if not years. It is not practical to postpone the LegCo election for months to allow time to finish all the work stemming from the fire.

Moreover, if a postponement exceeding 14 days is to be implemented, the new LegCo would not be able to take office on Jan 1. In that case, the tenure of the current term LegCo would have to be extended — an arrangement that requires the approval of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC) according to the law. This presents a technical problem: The NPCSC usually holds meetings at the end of December, so time is extremely tight. Moreover, there is currently not sufficient reason to seek NPCSC approval for extending the current-term LegCo, which would be considered an extraordinary move that could only be justified by a citywide crisis. The Tai Po fire is a heartrending incident but it is not a citywide crisis, as was the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when the new LegCo election was justifiably postponed and the tenure of the previous-term LegCo was extended for one year.

Another consideration is that any delay to the election would affect the huge volume of preparatory work that has already been done, including venue preparation, volunteer recruitment, and the preparation of publicity materials and paper ballots.

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Moreover, the Tai Po fire showed that there is room for the review and optimization of regulations on matters such as building maintenance and the responsibilities of owners’ corporations. Among the 161 qualified candidates for the upcoming LegCo election, there are many professionals with diverse expertise, who are exactly the type of candidates who are needed to complete the relevant legislative work. The timely formation of a new LegCo is also of great significance for tackling the work resulting from the fire.

Therefore, proactively engaging in disaster relief while the election is underway should present no problems; and unlike celebratory events, an election is a solemn ritual that is not in conflict with people’s mourning. The decision to hold the LegCo election as planned is both a pragmatic and responsible approach.

The author is a current affairs commentator.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.