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A total of 158 electors in the Lai Kok Constituency turned out to vote during the first hour of polling in the Sham Shui Po District Council by-election today (August 3).
There are two polling stations, one at Lai Kok Community Hall in Lai Kok Estate, Cheung Sha Wan, and the other at Shop No CX28, G/F, Fu Cheong Shopping Centre, Fu Cheong Estate, Sham Shui Po.
The two stations opened at 7.30am and will remain open until 10.30pm this evening for the convenience of the constituency's 12,298 electors. The ballots will be counted soon after the polls close.
A spokesman for the Registration and Electoral Office said voters have been assigned to one or the other of the polling stations in accordance with their registered residential address. They should check their poll cards to see which polling station to visit.
The by-election is being held to return a member to the District Council to replace the member who was disqualified from holding office in June this year.
The two candidates contesting the by-election are (No. 1) Miss Lai Wai Lan, Tracy, a social worker, and (No. 2) Mr Fan Kwok Fai, a labour services social worker.
The Chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission, Mr Justice Woo Kwok-hing, and commission member Dr Elizabeth Shing Shiu-ching will visit the polling stations and the counting stations to monitor electoral activities.
A spokesman for the Registration and Electoral Office (REO) urged electors to vote as early as possible.
"Don't wait until the last minute to vote," he said. .
Voting takes only a few minutes. "All voters need to do is to show their identity cards at the polling station, use the chop provided to stamp the ballot paper with a 'tick' in the circle opposite the candidate of their choice, and then put the ballot paper in the ballot box," he said.
A hotline -- 2891 1001 - will operate until the polls close at 10.30pm to answer all enquiries about electoral matters, including the location of the polling stations.
The REO complaints hotline 2827 7251 will also operate until 10.30 pm to handle complaints about breaches of electoral guidelines.
Members of the public are welcome to watch the counting of votes at the counting stations in Lai Kok Community Hall in Lai Kok Estate, Cheung Sha Wan, and in Shop No CX28, G/F, Fu Cheong Shopping Centre, Fu Cheong Estate, Sham Shui Po.
End/Sunday, August 3, 2003
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