The 2005 Hong Kong Chief Executive election was held to fill the vacancy of the territory's top office. Then Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa submitted his resignation to the central government in Beijing, and was officially approved on 12 March. As Donald Tsang, Chief Secretary for Administration in Tung's cabinet, was the only candidate, he was declared elected unopposed on 16 June. Tsang took office on 21 June to begin his first two-year term.
Background
During the 1996 and 2002 elections, an 800-member Election Committee was used to elect the Chief Executive. There is no universal suffrage or universal right to vote in Hong Kong. Senior employees, managers and professionals mainly vote pro-China to ensure their businesses can run smoothly. They were entirely biased in favour of Beijing's stance in the previous two elections.
The previously elected Tung Chee-hwa had long been an unpopular Chief executive. Tung claimed his health was deteriorating early in 2005 and announced he was ready to resign. He filed for resignation on 10 March, and two days later it was approved. An election was scheduled on 10 July to select the new Chief Executive. In the interim, Tsang and later Henry Tang served as acting Chief Executives in accordance with the Basic Law.
There were debates over the term of office for Tung's successor: whether the new Chief Executive should serve Tung's remaining two-year term or a full five-year term. The government tabled Chief Executive Election (Amendment) (Term of Office of the Chief Executive) Bill. Since the election and the term of the Chief Executive are regulated by the Basic Law, to settle the disputes, the Acting Chief Secretary filed a request for interpretation of the Basic Law to the PRC National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC), amidst some oppositions to the request. On 27 April, the NPCSC interpreted Article 53 that
Relevant text of the Basic Law
Article 52
Article 52 item 1 cites a health illness as an acceptable reason for resignation:
Given the status of this resignation as voluntary (as Tung claims), and there are allegations that the citing of health reasons may not be an actual truth, as there is technically nothing prohibiting the use of excuses in such a manner. It is rumoured that the actual motive is a decision imposed by the central government, but it can also be a desire to spend more time with the family or many other reasons.
Article 53
Article 53 gives the provisions for an acting Chief Executive.