The Election is a political drama television series produced by Hong Kong Television Network. With a budget of HK$15 million, filming started in July 2014 and wrapped up on 28 October 2014. The first episode premiered on 19 November 2014. The second episode and episodes after will be relocated to the weekly Saturday slot. A second season is planned to start filming in February 2015 but was postponed indefinitely.
Plot summary
With the failure of democratic movements such as the 2014 protests, the election of Chief Executive in 2017 is a hybrid universal suffrage: one has to obtain 600 votes from the 1200-member Nominating Committee to stand as an official Chief Executive candidate. Wai Man-hin, non-partisan candidate, is killed in a car accident on the day he wins the Chief Executive election. In the coming years, Wai's widow, Yip Ching, becomes an active activist for labour rights. As the 2022 Chief Executive election approaches, Luk Wai-tou, DNRA-backed candidate, is embroiled in an extramarital scandal. While DNRA continues to back Luk under the pressure of Wang, a mainland official, Sung Man-san, President of the Legislative Council and Chairman of DNRA, is ambitious and tries to replace Luk. Meanwhile, Yip is persuaded by Cheung Gwai-lung into following her late husband's footsteps and participating in the election. With the increase in the maximum election expenses, prospective candidates have to rely more on sponsors of local tycoons, who are mostly supportive of the government and pro-government DNRA. After appointing Cheung as her election officer, Yip eventually receives sponsor and nominating votes, but refuses to co-operate with HKMG, Hong Kong's leading media group. Sung fabricates evidence of Luk's affairs to weaken Luk's popularity, but Wang still supports a now-reluctant Luk to stand for the election. Luk discovers that Sung is behind all his scandals but is killed and then replaced by Sung in despair. Cheung rejects invitation from Sung to return to DNRA and is framed for raping the wife of a government official. Although the charge against Cheung is dismissed at last, Yip loses several nominating votes and has to turn to the Heung Yee Kuk for help. However, unbeknownst to Yip, the meeting between her and a rural strongman is used by DNRA and HKMG as evidence of her linkage to triads. Soon later, Yip joins the Democratic and Liberal Party, of which her late father is a co-founder, amidst its fierce intraparty conflict between the central committee and the Young Turks, who support her to challenge chairman Ho Chung-bak in the party's primary election. Sung Man-san, now diagnosed with brain cancer, and Yip Ching become official Chief Executive candidates. A hostage taker demands a conversation with Yip and surrenders himself to the police afterwards. Nevertheless, a hostage dies from heart attack. HKMG collaborates with DRNA to blame the vitcom's death on Yip and discredit her. While it becomes clear that HKMG leans towards DRNA, its journalists Kei Man-wai becomes a sex partner of Sung and Poon Tsz-wan leaves the media group to set up an online radio station. To further weaken Yip's support, Sung attempts to lure a disgruntled Ho into tearing DLP apart, but is stopped when Yip threatens Sung back with a sex tape of his wife and her boss. Kong Yat-tung, DRNA's secretary-general, reveals himself to the source of the video on Wang's order. Suffering from a fall in support, Yip decides to stay in the election campaign after receiving a territory-wide signatory support. Sung's attacks on Yip continue. Firstly, he convinces Tsui Kam-chuen, a radical activist whose offer for coalition was rejected by Yip, to withdraw their support for Yip and launch a blank-vote movement. Secondly, he releases his own wife's sex tape to HKMG and then blames Yip for his wife's failed suicidal attempt. Thirdly, he makes HKMG fabricate an intimate relationship between Yip and Cheung. Fourthly, he demands Yip has to be absent in the televised debate in exchange for the truth of her husband's death. As Sung starts to show signs of deteriorating health in public, he forces his personal doctor into exile to conceal his illness. A scandal-embroiled Cheung flies to Taiwan to track down the doctor. While the ballots are being counted, Sung falls in coma and Cheung is assaulted. The fates of Sung, Yip and Cheung remain unknown.
