Hong Kong drops plan to cap proxy votes in owners' meetings, citing lack of consensus
The Hong Kong government has shelved plans to cap the number of proxy votes a person can hold at owners' meetings after a public consultation found no broad consensus. Over half of 550 written submissions opposed the cap, and authorities will instead focus on enhanced auditing and electronic proxy v
The Hong Kong government has backed away from a proposal to limit the number of proxy votes, commonly known as authorisation votes, that a person can hold at owners' meetings under the Buildings Management Ordinance. The Home and Youth Affairs Bureau said on 3 November that a public consultation and collection of district views conducted in August had failed to produce broad agreement on the issue.
The bureau received 550 written submissions during the one-month consultation, which also considered recommendations from the independent committee on the Kwong Fook Court fire. In a paper submitted to the Legislative Council, the bureau noted that more than half of respondents opposed the proposed cap, with no consensus reached on the threshold or how to identify and handle surplus proxy votes.
Many respondents argued that enhanced random checks and verification would be a more fundamental solution. As a result, the authorities will first focus on auditing and verification, while continuing discussions with stakeholders on the feasibility of a cap. The bureau also said it will launch work on introducing electronic proxy voting.
Separately, the government proposed a tiered system for the attendance and in-person voting threshold for large-scale repair works procurement. Under the plan, higher-value projects would require a higher proportion of owners to attend and vote in person. More than 60 per cent of respondents supported the tiered in-person voting threshold, but many raised concerns that applying the same tiered system to the quorum for convening meetings could lead to meetings being adjourned.
After considering the views, the authorities decided that the tiered system would apply only to the in-person voting threshold. The quorum for meetings will remain unchanged at 10 per cent of the number of owners.