Hong Kong’s legislature will break from another tradition by withdrawing a valedictory motion marking the end of its four-year term, with a veteran lawmaker citing concerns over electoral fairness.

Starry Lee Wai-king, chairwoman of the Legislative Council’s House Committee, who was supposed to move the farewell motion, revealed on Tuesday that she withdrew it after receiving feedback from some lawmakers.

“The election is shaping up to be highly competitive. Some lawmakers worry that having the valedictory motion could prompt unfairness, while others want more time to focus on election matters with the nomination period approaching,” Lee said, without elaborating why the debate might be unfair to some potential candidates.

Lee noted the timing of the debate would be very close to the coming Legco election nomination period, which begins on Friday.

But the previous Legco tabled the farewell motion on October 27, 2021, only three days before the start of the nomination period that year.

Lee said the “difficult” decision was made following discussions with lawmakers and after considering all factors.