There will be two official candidates, a secret ballot on March 25 and perhaps even a debate along the way. The only thing missing from the race to be Hong Kong’s next chief executive, which formally kicks off this week, will be a genuine election.

The contest between Donald Tsang, the territory’s incumbent chief executive, and Alan Leong, his only challenger, will instead be decided by an 800-person committee, the members of which were either directly appointed or elected by narrowly defined constituencies last month.