The 2025 Hong Kong Legislative Council election was a general election held on 7 December 2025 to elect all 90 members of the 8th Legislative Council of Hong Kong. Following the 2021 Hong Kong electoral changes, 90 seats were up for election, including 40 seats elected by the 1,500-member Election Committee, 30 trade-based indirectly elected functional constituency seats, and 20 seats directly elected through geographical constituencies. The election, in which only pro-government "patriots" were allowed to run and only 20 seats were popularly elected, was internationally considered to be neither free nor fair.
The past legislative session, the 7th Legislative Council, was criticised for its lack of meaningful discourse, with many bills being approved without a quorum. The introduction of smart ballot boxes also prompted controversy, while the future of democrats and moderates was called into question due to the effective dissolution of the pro-democracy camp. Ultimately, there were only two "non-core pro-establishment candidates" from the PoD Research Institute, both of whom did not declare their affiliation and came last.
Following multiple reports that indicated the central Chinese government established an age limit on lawmakers, all 12 of them aged over 70, including council president Andrew Leung and the leaders of five parties – Lo Wai-kwok of the Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong (BPA), Regina Ip of the New People's Party (NPP), Tommy Cheung of the Liberal Party, Michael Tien of Roundtable, and Tik Chi-yuen of Third Side – chose not to seek another term for various reasons, contributing to a retirement wave and an abundance of newcomer candidates. Third Side and New Prospect for Hong Kong did not field any candidates after their incumbents retired.
Election-related activities were suspended due to the Wang Fuk Court fire, but the election went ahead as scheduled despite calls for postponement. Only government-organised election forums were held, which were criticised for lacking debate. The government ran a massive turnout campaign, set up dedicated polling stations, and extended voting hours to raise the historically low turnout from the last election. Many people were arrested for damaging election posters and inciting others not to vote or cast invalid votes. The election resulted in a 31.9% voter turnout—a slight increase from the 2021 election but still lower than the 52.3% turnout in 2016. The total votes cast in the geographical constituencies also decreased from 2021 by 33,000, and registration decreased by 7.64%.
Background This is the second "patriots governing Hong Kong" election under the new electoral system introduced in 2021, after which the Legislative Council was expanded from 70 to 90 seats, but with only 20 seats allocated for geographical constituencies (GCs) which are directly elected by constituents. The remaining seventy seats include 40 Election Committee Constituency (ECC) seats selected by the 1,500-member body, and 30 seats of trade-based indirectly elected functional constituencies (FCs) voted by selected groups of professionals and corporate representatives.
Only pro-Beijing "patriots" are allowed to run; the majority of opposition pro-democracy members were banned, jailed, or forced into exile. In addition, the election is considered a disproportionate two-tier democracy and very limited popular representation, as only 20 of the Council's 90 seats are directly elected. The current election laws are considered by the foreign ministries of various countries, Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, an inter-parliamentary group of lawmakers in several countries, and some NGOs to be neither free nor fair.
Past legislative session The 7th Legislative Council elected in 2021 was the first after the national security law and electoral changes were imposed by the government of China. Without any legislator explicitly from the pro-democracy camp, the legislature packed with pro-Beijing members was criticised to lack meaningful discussions and debates, while newcomers of the Legislative Council resorted to politically correct measures only, such as repeating speeches by Chinese officials. Ming Pao reported in August 2023 that amongst the 24 government bills passed since the beginning of the legislative term, including the domestic security law which was fast-tracked, 16 of those were approved without a quorum, prompting concerns of LegCo members' performance. Andrew Leung, President of the Legislative Council, denied claims that the chamber rubber-stamped bills and defended it as highly efficient. However, an opinion poll by pro-government party and think tank Path of Democracy said 48.1% of the interviewed expressed dissatisfaction with legislators' performance and only 29.4% were content.
Apart from evaluation from the own party, it was also reported that government officials were involved in assessing the performance of the legislators in the run-up to the election, an act seen as unprecedented before the "patriot-only" principle was implemented.
Smart ballot box In December 2024, the government of Hong Kong announced a series of new measures to be implemented in this election. The Improving Electoral Arrangements (Consolidated Amendments) Bill contained a plan to introduce "smart ballot boxes" to ensure ballots were validly marked. While the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau said the scanners would "streamline and enhance" procedures while ensuring that "cardinal election principles" such as voting confidentiality would be upheld, some lawmakers expressed concerns over the implications of compromising vote secrecy. Although insisting the voter rights would be protected as voters would not be identified, the government withdrew the proposal less than a week later after "considering the views of legislators". The bureau said it attaches great importance to the views and is willing to "accept well-intentioned advice", while the smart ballot boxes will still be made available for voters who choose to use them.
Future of democrats and moderates The implementation of the "Patriots administering Hong Kong" principle barred "unpatriotic" opposition from being elected to public offices. The flagship pro-democracy group, the Democratic Party, once the largest party in the Legislative Council, is planning to dissolve in 2025. Media sources indicated Chinese government has pressed for the closure of the "worthless" party, which was unable to run in the 2021 and 2023 "patriot-only" elections. Reportedly also under pressure, the League of Social Democrats disbanded in late June. The pro-democracy camp is considered to have come to an end without any active political groups.
The new rules also reduced the portion of directly elected seats to around 22%, which was considered by democratic watchdogs as a decrease in democratic values. Hong Kong Economic Journal said some members from the business sector recommended Beijing authorities to draw up a timeline to gradually reintroduce more elected seats in order to improve Hong Kong's international image and align with the Basic Law article. Third Side, the only self-claimed moderate group in the Legislative Council, and Path of Democracy, an extra-parliamentary moderate group, expressed the hope that an electoral reform would be initiated by the government in due course. However, it was speculated by media that the moderates would also be barred from legislative races as they are "no longer needed in a patriotic administration".
Retirement wave
Announcements On 29 September, Andrew Leung, who served as president of the legislature for nine years, made a surprise announcement that he would stand down from the legislature, citing his age and his family. He said he hoped this would give capable candidates time to prepare sufficiently for the election. His decision further raised speculation about an age limit of 70 for lawmakers, although Leung said it was solely his personal decision. While recalling his nine-year leadership, Leung said the Legislative Council successfully ended the opposition's disruption. Possible successors for the presidency include Starry Lee and Chan Chun-ying. Ma Fung-kwok, 70, announced his retirement on the same day as Leung, also citing his age.
Two veteran legislators, 76-year-old Liberal Party leader Tommy Cheung and Chan Kin-por, 71, confirmed their intention not to seek another term on 11 October. Cheung said he had carefully considered his decision with the development of the One Country, Two Systems, while Chan said he would be passing the baton to younger rank to run for the election. The sole self-branded "non-establishment" moderate member Tik Chi-yuen was also stepping down, saying a younger colleague from his party Third Side will run only as the party did not gather enough funding to support his re-election. More lawmakers dropped out in the next few days, including 72-year-old Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong chairman Lo Wai-kwok, pro-Beijing camp's unofficial convenor Martin Liao, aged 68, and Roundtable convener Michael Tien. Outspoken lawmakers such as Doreen Kong opted to stand down as well, and dismissed claims that she was forced to do so. The two remaining legislators over 70, Regina Ip and Lai Tung-kwok of the New People's Party (NPP), confirmed their retirement on 25 October. Another outspoken member Paul Tse did not submit nomination for the election, saying that "silence speaks louder than words", and thereby ending his 17-year career in the assembly.
As a result, 35 incumbent legislators did not seek re-election, more than half having served only one term. All 12 incumbents who were over 70 chose not to seek re-election, while the other 23 decided against staying in the legislature likely because of their unsatisfactory performance, or vocal criticisms on some government policies, or to pave way for succession within the party.
Reactions The unprecedentedly large wave of retirements sparked claims that Beijing imposed an age limit for lawmakers and demanded a major upheaval of the composition, although the officials denied "blessing" or giving "special treatment" for candidates. John Lee, the Chief Executive, said the departures are normal and personal decisions by the lawmakers and the Executive Council will not be reshuffled after ExCo members left the LegCo. Lee added the generational succession is a positive sign for the Legislative Council. However, the farewell motion, which is tabled by convention at the last meeting to mark the end of the term, was withdrawn in light of possible "sensitive remarks" and giving undue advantages to legislators before the election. A farewell banquet for LegCo members and John Lee was also cancelled.
Both Chinese government and John Lee strongly rebutted claims that Beijing has "blessed" any hopefuls in the election and condemned "anti-China" forces for ongoing attempts to sabotage, disrupt, and discredit the patriots-only election through spreading rumours of Chinese interference. They also praised the retiring incumbents for their nobility and upright characters.
According to John Burns, emeritus professor of politics at the University of Hong Kong, China has sought to strengthen its influence in the legislature after this retirement wave, with younger candidates linked to the mainland emerging in their place. He claimed that China’s representative office "carefully curates" electoral contests to ensure preferred candidates win.
List of departing incumbents