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    Fifty-two nominations have been received for the Election Committee (EC) subsector by-elections since the nomination period began on April 9. The deadline for nomination was 5pm today (April 15).

    Fifteen nominees submitted their nomination forms today.

    The breakdown of the number of nominations by each subsector is:

Subsector          [no. of nominations today / accumulative total]

Finance (1 vacancy)  [0/1]

Import and Export (1 vacancy)     [0/1]

Industrial (First) (2 vacancies)  [0/2]

Industrial (Second) (1 vacancy)   [0/1]

Textiles and Garment (1 vacancy)  [0/2]

Accountancy (2 vacancies)  [4/12]

Architectural, Surveying and Planning (1 vacancy) [1/3]

Chinese Medicine (1 vacancy)   [0/2]

Engineering (2 vacancies)   [1/4]

Higher Education (1 vacancy)   [2/2]

Legal (2 vacancies)  [1/4]

Agriculture and Fisheries (2 vacancies) [2/4]

Labour (1 vacancy) [0/1]

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (2 vacancies) [1/2]

Heung Yee Kuk (4 vacancies) [0/4]

Hong Kong and Kowloon District Councils (3 vacancies) [3/7]

Total:  [15/52]

    Personal particulars of the nominees, including their name, gender, occupation and political affiliation, are available at www.elections.gov.hk.

    For all the contested subsectors (in which the number of candidates exceeds the number of vacancies), polls will be held on May 1. Nominees are being vetted on eligibility for their candidature.

    A briefing for the candidates and their agents will be held at the Hong Kong International Trade & Exhibition Centre on Sunday, April 17, when the Chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission, Mr Justice Woo Kwok-hing, will introduce the guidelines on election-related activities.

    Supplementary nominations for the six vacancies in the Religious Subsector by the religious bodies concerned also ran concurrently between April 9 and 15. The results of supplementary nominations will be published in the Government Gazette shortly.

Ends/Friday, April 15, 2005

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