Hong Kong has a multi-party system, with numerous parties in which no one party was allowed to gain power by controlling the Legislative Council. The Chief Executive is appointed by the Premier of the People's Republic of China based on an indirectly elected Election Committee and is de facto pro-Beijing but de jure is said to be nonpartisan as specified in the Chief Executive Election Ordinance. Once selected, the Chief Executive forms an unelected government which superficially has to rely on political parties in the legislature for support, but the legislature has been deliberately designed and redesigned to be a pro-Beijing rubber stamp body.
Hong Kong has no legislation for political parties; thus, it has no legal definition for what a political party is. Most political parties and political groups registered either as limited companies or societies.
In Hong Kong, there were two main political ideological blocs, which presents to pro-democracy camp (include localists) and pro-Beijing camp. Under the newly introduced electoral system since 2021, only government-approved candidates may run, effectively disqualifying any candidates who are not from the pro-Beijing camp or approved by Beijing. Most of the pro-democracy camp Legislative Councillors from the previous LegCo have been jailed by the Hong Kong government and are therefore disqualified from participating in elections without the need for government vetting.
There are 9 major political groups represented in the Legislative Council, including trade unions, professional associations and pressure groups. Two further political groups (New Territories Association of Societies and Civil Force) are represented by those members.
Other parties and groups without any representation that have participated in the elections include:
The following are political parties or groups that have won at least a seat in legislative or municipal elections and have been dissolved.