The head of the Electoral Affairs Commission, David Lok, has urged voters to turn out in droves for Sunday’s Legislative Council election, saying it is in Hong Kong’s overall interest to elect new lawmakers to drive forward reforms.

Speaking on RTHK’s “Letter to Hong Kong” aired on Saturday, the election chief said he traditionally wrote such a letter before each polling day to share his thoughts but this time felt especially heavy‑hearted because of the Wang Fuk Court fire that claimed at least 159 lives.

Lok noted that some people believed that holding the election as scheduled disregarded public sentiment at a time when society was permeated with grief.

But he noted that the date of Hong Kong’s election, as was the case in many other places, could not be easily changed and that it was extremely important to comply with the law in order to avoid a “vacuum period” in Legco.

Lok added that newly elected legislators could help give impetus to reforms and work to prevent tragedies such as the Wang Fuk Court disaster from happening again.

“The newly elected legislators, after assuming office on January 1st, will certainly expedite the review and reforms needed in the aftermath of the disaster. Preventing the recurrence of the tragedy is the only responsible approach for the affected persons and society at large,” he said.

“So at this difficult time voters should approach their civic responsibilities with more seriousness, proactively look forward and elect new legislatures to perform their important functions. Only this will fulfil the overall interest of Hong Kong.”

Lok stressed that there was no potential conflict in resource allocation between disaster relief work and the election and said the government was acting to ensure there was sufficient manpower to allow both to be carried out smoothly.