Hong Kong leader to announce delay to Sept 6 election on Friday

The pro-democracy opposition was expecting a strong showing after an overwhelming win in lower-level district council elections last year.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam is expected to announce later on Friday a postponement of the Sept. 6 election for seats in the Chinese-ruled city's legislature, local Cable TV reported. Lam is expected to delay the poll for a year amid a spike in coronavirus cases in the global financial hub, a move which would deal a blow to the pro-democracy opposition.

The opposition was aiming to win a historic majority in the election given broad resentment of Beijing's imposition of a new security law that has been widely criticized by Western countries as eroding citizens' rights. The pro-democracy opposition was expecting a strong showing after an overwhelming win in lower-level district council elections last year.