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Two of the 526 polling stations for the 2000 Legislative Council elections will be set up a couple of days before the polling day on September 10 and open for public visit.

The geographical constituency polling station at Chai Wan Community Centre, 230 Chai Wan Road, and the polling station for the Election Committee and special functional constituency at the Exhibition Gallery, Kwai Tsing Theatre, 12 Hing Ning Road, Kwai Chung, will be open from 9 am to 5 pm on September 8 and 9.

The arrangement was first introduced in the 1998 Legislative Council elections to enable members of the public to see the layout of a polling station and its facilities before they go to the polls, a spokesman for the Registration and Electoral Office said.

"This practice helps to make the polling process more open and transparent," the spokesman said.

A total of 526 polling stations will be open from 7.30 am to 10.30 pm on Sunday, September 10 for more than 3.05 million registered electors to vote.

All of them have been informed of where and how to vote. The Registration and Electoral Office has sent each elector a poll card, a map of the designated polling station, a voting guide, a leaflet about the candidates of their constituency and a pair of commemorative cards.

"If electors have not received the mail, please call the election hotline, 2891 1001, to make enquiries," the spokesman said.

A total of 231 of the polling stations are accessible to persons with a disability. If disabled electors find it difficult to visit the polling station allocated to them, they may call the hotline, 2891 1001, no later than September 5 to apply for re-allocation of another polling station accessible to them.

For electors who wish to find out more about the candidates, they are welcome to call the 24-hour hotline, 2815 3313, to listen to recorded messages about the platforms of candidates. More information about various aspects of the elections is available on the election homepage, www.elections.gov.hk.

End/Sunday, September 3, 2000

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