6 April, John Lee resigned as the Chief Secretary, and announced his intention to run in the upcoming chief executive election. Two days later, the resignation was approved by the State Council of China. Lee formally announced he would stand in the election later that day and held a news conference the following day. On 13 April, Lee was nominated as the only candidate of the election, and the candidacy was confirmed by vetting authorities on 18 April. With a total of 786 nominations, Lee has already won the support of half of the Election Committee. Reactions Lee was expected to secure enough nominations, and win the election without uncertainty. The pro-Beijing camp generally supported Lee as the next Chief Executive, with a campaign office composed of 16 deputy directors from a variety of backgrounds and as political heavyweights, some of those rallied for Carrie Lam, the incumbent Chief Executive, CY Leung and Donald Tsang, the former Chief Executives. The four real estate developer giants also supported Lee. The background of Lee, having served in the police for decades, raised concerns about his hardline attitude and inexperience. Lee was also criticised as being "surprisingly weak and unprepared" in a "carefully choreographed" press conference, without details on election manifesto. Lo Kin-hei, chairperson of Democratic Party, the pro-democracy largest party now out of parliament, said anointing Lee implies the Chinese Government chooses to proceed with hardline policies. Senior government loyalists also sought to play down criticism that the leadership race did not field any rivals to Lee. Maria Tam, former Convenor of National People's Congress Hong Kong delegation, said "having one person run for (chief executive) does not mean we have fewer choices". Procedures Only the 1,461 members of the Election Committee can select the new Chief Executive. Candidates need to be nominated by at least 188 members of the Election Committee. Candidates winning more than 750 votes, half of the Election Committee, will be appointed. Candidates Nominee Failed to be nominated None of the following candidates were successfully nominated. Ahm Warm-sun Lai Hung-mui, security guard Checkley Sin Kwok-lam, pro-Beijing film producer, businessman, kung fu master, internet celebrity, withdrew on 14 April and supported John Lee Siu Tak-keung, software engineer Titus Wu Sai-chuen, property investor, former member of pro-Beijing party DAB Wong Man-hong Declined to run The following persons had either expressed their wish to run or were considered potential candidates but