China: White House condemns China for delaying Hong Kong elections despite Trump suggesting same for US | John T. Bennett/The Independent

The White House on Friday condemned China’s decision to delay an election in Hong Kong by one year due to the coronavirus pandemic even as Donald Trump continues floating the idea about the US election slated for November. Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Trump administration officials “condemn the Hong Kong government’s decision to postpone for one year its legislative … elections, and to disqualify opposition candidates. This action undermines democratic processes and freedoms that have underpinned Hong Kong’s prosperity.” “This is only the most recent [of] a growing list of broken promises by Beijing,” she added. That came less than 24 hours after the US president again signalled he would support – even prefer – the 3 November election in the United States be delayed, arguing a massive increase in mail-in ballots due to fears about voting in person inevitably will lead to widespread fraud. “I want an election and a result, much, much more than you,” Mr Trump said at the White House on Thursday evening. “I don’t want to delay. I want to have the election. But I also don’t want to have to wait three months and then find out that the ballots are all missing, and the election doesn’t mean anything.” The president help up print outs of recent media reports detailing problems with mail-in ballots. The list included reporting from major US media outlets like The Washington Post and others.

United Kingdom: The Guardian view on delaying elections: it’s what autocrats do | The Guardian

Postponing elections is what autocracies do. On Friday, Hong Kong’s leader, Carrie Lam, announced a delay to September’s planned legislative council (LegCo) elections. Ms Lam cited the coronavirus public health emergency as her justification. Yet the real reason is Hong Kong’s political emergency. Hong Kong’s elections have been postponed because even with its very limited democracy, Ms Lam and the Chinese government are afraid the voters will choose a LegCo with greater sympathy for the protests. In spite of their very different systems, Donald Trump’s reasons for proposing the postponement of November’s US presidential election are essentially the same. Mr Trump also cites the pandemic. But his real motives are also political. He thinks he is losing the campaign. He thinks Joe Biden will be elected in November. He wants to stop him if he can, by fair means or foul. And he wants to discredit his own defeat. Yet, there are significant differences between the two cases, which need to be understood. These make Mr Trump’s move in some respects even more sinister. There is nothing in the US constitution that permits the president to postpone an election. The date is fixed by law. Such a change would require an act of both houses of Congress, so it is not going to happen. Even Republicans admit this. In any event, a postponement would not allow Mr Trump to continue in office beyond January 2021.