Leung submits nominations for HK Chief Executive election

Leung Chun-ying, former Convenor of the Non-Official Members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong (Exco), Thursday submitted nominations for the 2012 Chief Executive Election to the Registration and Electorial Office of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government.

Leung told reporters that he had received support of 293 of the 1,200 election committee members.

Leung, 57, had joined the Exco in 1997 and became the Convenor of the Non-Official Members of the Exco in 2005.

An election will be held on March 25 to select next Chief Executive of Hong Kong. The incumbent Chief Executive Donald Tsang is barred from seeking a third term.

The nomination period, which began on Feb. 14, will run until Feb. 29. A nomination form must be subscribed by at least 150 Election Committee members. Each member can nominate only one candidate.

Leung was the third candidate to formally submit nomination papers, following Henry Tang, former Chief Secretary for Administration of the city government, and Albert Ho, a lawmaker who is also head of a local political party.