SMU Assistant Professor of Law Shubhankar Dam suggested in the Jurist magazine that without the abrogation of the “pre-selection” provision of eligible candidates by the nominating committee, the Hong Kong electorate must be given the None of the Above (NOTA) option when they vote for the Chief Executive’s election in 2017. He argued that Hong Kong should implement the rule where if a majority of voters in Hong Kong opt for NOTA, all other candidates must be declared as having lost the elections and new elections must be held. Analysts said that if the NOTA suggestion mooted by Assistant Prof Dam in his proposal was accepted by Beijing, it could help obtain a two-thirds majority in Hong Kong’s 70-member Legislative Council where the political reform package in its final form will be tabled.