Originally scheduled on 6 September 2020, Chief Executive Carrie Lam postponed the election, citing the COVID-19 pandemic five weeks before the scheduled election date. The delay was seen as a blow to the pro-democrats who hoped to achieve "35+" majority in the legislature for the first time by riding on the 2019 District Council landslide with the wave of massive anti-government protests. After the postponement, the NPCSC unseated four pro-democracy legislators which triggered the mass resignation of the opposition camp, while the police raided pro-democracy media outlet and arrested 55 opposition leaders who participated in the primaries under the newly imposed national security law. In March 2021, the NPCSC amended the Basic Law of Hong Kong which extensively rewrote the electoral rules.