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The 2003 provisional register of electors for geographical constituencies will be released for public inspection from tomorrow (August 15) until August 29.

The Registration and Electoral Office said the provisional register, which carried the names and residential addresses of about 2.973 million electors, was part of an annual updating exercise before the final register was published on September 15.

An elector's address as recorded in the final register is the basis for assigning a constituency and a polling station to him/her in an election, including the District Council Elections in November and the Legislative Council Elections next year.

In this year's provisional register, more than 232,000 records were updated and the names of about 164,000 new electors added.

An omissions list of about 100,000 names will also be released for public inspection. These people have been struck off the electoral roll because they are believed to be dead or have moved home without reporting their change of address.

Electors should ensure their names and addresses in the provisional register are current and correct. An incorrect address could lead to a mismatched constituency or even deny an elector the opportunity to vote.

Electors who moved home recently, and those named in the omissions list for not reporting their change of address, can report their new address with the REO-1 form to the Registration and Electoral Office by August 29 if they want to have a correct record for them in the final register.

New applicants or registered electors whose particulars are incorrectly recorded or whose names are not featured in the provisional register, and those who are included in the omissions list, may appeal by lodging a notice of claim not later than the same deadline.

Objections against the registration of any person as an elector can be made by lodging a notice of objection, also by August 29.

All objections and claims will be heard by revising officers, who will be drawn from the judiciary, and their rulings will be reflected in the final register.

Registered electors can call 2891 1001 to check their records or visit the following places during office hours to inspect the provisional register and the omissions list:

* The Registration and Electoral Office, 10/F, Harbour Centre, 25 Harbour Road, Wan Chai.

* The Public Enquiry Services Centres of the 18 District Offices (enquiries should be made at the District Office relating to the geographical constituency concerned).

Forms for making claims or objections are available at the above offices or can be downloaded from the website: www.gov.hk/reo.

The provisional registers and omissions lists for the functional constituencies and Election Committee Subsectors will also be released tomorrow. They will be available for public inspection at:

* The Registration and Electoral Office, 10/F, Harbour Centre, 25 Harbour Road, Wan Chai; and 10/F, Guardian House, 32 Oi Kwan Road, Wan Chai.

* The Public Enquiry Services Centres of Central and Western, Yau Tsim Mong, Kwun Tong, Sha Tin and Tsuen Wan District Offices.

End/Thursday, August 14, 2003

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