Elections
The party started with a single seat on the Legislative Council (LegCo). The 1995 LegCo elections increased the DAB's share to six seats. After 1997 when Hong Kong was transferred to the People's Republic of China (PRC), DAB enjoyed political favour from the PRC, and gained a number of seats in Legco through Functional Constituency election which was deemed unfair, and they remain unfavour in local district direct election. In 2000 it had ten councillors in Legco. The most recent Legislative Council election in 2004, it become the largest (by number) political party to be represented with 12 seats, with the Liberal Party coming second (10 seats), with the Democratic Party coming third (9 seats).
Twelve district councilors joined the party on its formation, a share that increased to 37 seats in the 1994 elections and 83 in 1999. In the wake of the controversies over the legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law in 2003, the party's popularity dropped drastically and the November 2003 District Councils elections saw its seats drop to 62. The election results have led to the resignation of its former Chairman, Jasper Tsang Yok-sing. However, as Ma Lik had been undergoing treatment for colon cancer from 2004 until his death in 2007, Tsang still effectively controls the DAB.
The DAB and its sister organisation HKFTU are well known for their ability to mobilize their supporters, including employees of PRC state-owned companies, to vote for their candidates in elections. In the 2004 Legislative Council election, they managed to exploit the proportional representation electoral system to equalise votes for two of the candidates the party endorsed standing in the same constituency. Although support of Chan Yuen Han (DAB) was far higher than Chan Kam Lam (HKFTU), according to earlier polls, the two organisations managed to have both elected. At another constituency, the ticket of Ma Lik and Choy So Yuk ultimately benefitted from a democratic camp mix-up that led to the resignation of the Democratic Party's leader, Yeung Sum.
| Election | Number of votes | Share of votes | Geographical constituency seats | Functional constituency seats | Elections committee seats | Total seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 141,801 | 15.40% | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 1998 | 373,428 | 25.23% | 5 | 3 | 2 | 10 |
| 2000 | 374,780 | 28.40% | 7 | 3 | 1 | 11 |
| 2004 | 402,420 | 22.55% | 8 | 2 | − | 10 |
| 2008 | 347,373 | 22.92% | 7 | 3 | − | 10 |
| 2012 | 366,140 | 20.22% | 9 | 4 | − | 13 |
Read more about this topic: Democratic Alliance For The Betterment And Progress Of Hong Kong
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