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The two-week nomination period for the general election to return 60 members to the Legislative Council (Legco) will start on Thursday (July 22).

In the September 12 election, 30 members will be returned from geographical constituencies and another 30 from functional constituencies.

To run for a seat in a geographical constituency, a nominee must be a registered geographical constituency elector and aged 21 or above, a spokesman for the Registration and Electoral Office said today (July 18).

The nominee must also have ordinarily lived in Hong Kong for the three years immediately before the nomination, and is a Chinese citizen with no right of abode in a foreign country, the spokesman added.

For the functional constituency polls, the nominee must be a registered elector for, or have a substantial connection with, the functional constituency concerned. He or she must be aged 21 or above, have ordinarily lived in Hong Kong for the three years immediately before the nomination, and is a Chinese citizen with no right of abode in a foreign country.

Candidature in 12 functional constituencies, however, is open to Hong Kong permanent residents who are not Chinese nationals or who have the right of abode in a foreign country. These constituencies are: legal; accountancy; engineering; architectural, surveying and planning; real estate and construction; tourism; commercial (first); industrial (first); finance; financial services; import and export, and insurance.

Nomination forms are available for collection from any District Office of the Home Affairs Department, the relevant Returning Officer's office, and the Registration and Electoral Office on 10/F Harbour Centre, 25 Harbour Road, Wan Chai. They can also be downloaded from the Electoral Affairs Commission's website at www.gov.hk/eac.

Completed nomination forms must be handed in person by the nominees to the relevant Returning Officer, between 9am and 5pm from Monday to Friday and between 9am and noon on a Saturday, during the nomination period.

For geographical constituency polls, each list of candidates needs to be subscribed by 100 registered electors of the constituency concerned, and a deposit of $50,000 must be paid. The number of subscribers on their nomination form must not be more than 200.

For functional constituency polls, each nominee must be subscribed by 10 registered electors of the constituency concerned and a deposit of $25,000 must be paid. The number of subscribers on their nomination form must not be more than 20.

The spokesman urged nominees to submit their nomination forms as early as possible so that any mistakes in respect of their entries, such as bad cheques, can be rectified before the nomination closes.

The spokesman reminded candidates that they could apply to the Electoral Affairs Commission to have registered names, abbreviations and emblems of prescribed bodies and prescribed persons printed on ballot papers during the nomination period.

Enquiries about the nomination procedure may be made on the election hotline 2891 1001. Members of the public are welcome to visit the website, www.gov.hk/eac, for more election news.

Ends/Sunday, July 18, 2004

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