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The following is issued on behalf of the Electoral Affairs Commission:

The Chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission, Mr Justice Woo Kwok-hing, made a last-minute appeal to voters for the Election Committee subsector elections several hours before polling ends at 10.30 pm tonight (Thursday).

"I hope that more voters would go to the polls tonight on their way home from their working places or after dinner.

"Don't miss the opportunity to choose your representatives on the Election Committee, which will elect 10 Legislative Councillors on May 24," he said.

The appeal was made at a media briefing following his visit to five polling stations at the Hong Kong Park Indoor Games Hall.

Up to 5.30 pm today, 15,654 voters have cast their ballots at 90 polling stations. This represents 11.22 per cent of the registered electorate.

Mr Justice Woo and a member of the Commission, Ms Elizabeth Shing, inspected more than 30 polling stations throughout Hong Kong in the morning and afternoon to make sure that the elections are conducted honestly, fairly and openly.

Earlier in the afternoon, they dropped in on the hotline office of the Registration and Electoral Office, where more than 50 staff members are handling enquiries and complaints from voters, candidates and members of the public from 7 am to 11 pm tonight.

So far today, 14 minor complaints on various election-related matters have been lodged.

End/Thursday, April 2, 1998