Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam has announced that she will not be running for another term ahead of elections next month.

“I will complete my five-year term as chief executive on June 30, and officially conclude my 42-year career in government,” Ms Lam said.

On Monday, Ms Lam, whose term ends on June 30, told reporters that her withdrawal from office is to enable her to focus on her family. She said her decision had been discussed with China last year during its annual parliamentary meeting.

The election for the chief executive had been initially set for March 27, but had to be postponed until May 8 due to a coronavirus outbreak. 

The position of the chief executive is selected every five years in a vote managed by China and determined by an election committee made up of 1,500 officials who support the Communist Party. 

So far no candidate has publicly declared for the position, though local media has reported that Chief Secretary John Lee is likely to enter the race to succeed Lam. 

Ms Lam became chief executive in July 2017, but her five-year term has been marred by criticism over legislation that would have allowed criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China for trial and the protests that ensued in 2019. 

A milestone in Ms Lam’s administration was the introduction of a national security law that ended the protests.

The law, which was written by China, led to the arrests of democracy activists and politicians. Many of Hong Kong’s largest unions, advocacy groups and media outlets have been dismantled.