Hong Kong Government

The political system of Hong Kong is defined by the Hong Kong Basic Law document which was adopted in April of 1990. In 1997, Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region of China after the United Kingdom handed sovereignty to China. The Chief Executive of Hong Kong is the head of government and of the Special Administrative Region. Executive power is held by the government and Hong Kong is considered a multi-party system. International observers, such as the Economist Intelligence Unit, have labelled Hong Kong as a flawed democracy.

Elections in Hong Kong take place every four years for half of the seats (30 out of 70) in the legislative branch of government. These seats are based on regional elections throughout the country. The other half of seats are elected in smaller elections that are only open to some individuals within the business sectors. The Chief Executive is elected by a 1,200 member Election Committee and approved and appointed by the government of China; the elections for Chief Executive are held every five years.

The parliament of Hong Kong is known as the Legislative Council and is located near the northern coast of the island. The colonial legislative government was founded in 1843 but the modern parliament was founded in 1997. There are 70 seats in the Legislative Council and the Pro-Beijing coalition holds 40 of these seats. The next election for Hong Kong's parliament will take place in 2020.

Hong Kong has a total of 26 active political groups.