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Close to 2.8 million registered electors for the 1998 Legislative Council election are receiving a poll card, a map showing the location of a designated polling station and a voting guide starting from this week.

"These documents will remind you when, where and how to vote," the Chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission, Mr Justice Woo Kwok-hing, said today (Monday) in a speech to a Legislative Council election forum of the Hong Kong Society of Accountants.

A leaflet containing photographs, personal particulars and platforms of candidates will also be included in the mail.

"If you do not receive the materials by May 17, you are welcome to call the election hotline - 2588 1212 to make enquiries," he said.

To commemorate the first election of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Commission will present to each elector in a geographical constituency a set of two commemorative cards.

The first card is being sent along with the poll card, and the second one and a card holder will be given to an elector after he has cast his vote at a polling station.

"The convenience of electors is a prime concern to us," Mr Justice Woo said. Except for the 800 members of the Election Committee, every elector will be assigned a polling station near his home.

Even if an elector has a second vote in a functional constituency (FC) or acts as an authorised representative of an FC corporate elector, he will need to visit only one polling station to cast all his votes.

The Election Committee members may cast all their votes at any one of the four polling stations designated to them.

A total of 496 polling stations will be open for 15 hours from 7.30 am to 10.30 pm on Sunday, May 24.

Noting that a list voting system will be adopted for the first time in the direct election, Mr Justice Woo said: "It's not complicated at all. Like the previous two Legislative Council elections in 1991 and 1995, all an elector would have to do is to mark a tick next to his choice on a ballot paper. It's as simple as that.

"What's new this time round is that candidates contest the election in the form of lists. If there is more than one candidate on a list, they have to rank themselves in order of priority. An elector will choose a list of candidates instead of a candidate," he said.

Talking about the work of the Commission, Mr Justice Woo said: "We are now occupied in finalising arrangements for the general election, monitoring canvassing activities and handling election-related complaints."

He pointed out that the Commission was not responsible for the design of the electoral system, which was prescribed by the Legislative Council Ordinance.

"Neither would it comment on issues on or bordering on politics," he said.

The Commission is an independent, apolitical and impartial body with three members appointed by the Chief Executive to supervise elections in Hong Kong. It makes arrangements to ensure that elections are conducted honestly, fairly and openly.

"We are working in accordance with the law to make sure that every elector has an opportunity to take part in the election and has fair access to the views of all candidates.

"We are also doing everything possible to help candidates understand and abide by the rules of the game, and to give every candidate a fair and equal opportunity to compete," he said.

The Commission completed a number of jobs over the past seven months, including the delineation of geographical constituencies, the registration of electors, the publication of guidelines on election-related activities and the conduct of the subsector elections on April 2 to form the Election Committee.

End/Monday, May 11, 1998