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  Thirty-nine polling stations will be open from 7.30am to 10.30pm tomorrow (May 1) for about 47,000 voters in the nine contested subsectors to cast their vote in the Election Committee (EC) subsector by-elections.

  "Voters concerned should check their poll cards to see which polling station to visit," the Chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission, Mr Justice Woo Kwok-hing, said today (April 30) after paying a visit to the Mong Kok Community Hall to see its conversion into a polling station.

  "Voters who do not have the poll card in hand or want to make enquiries may call the election hotline, 2891 1001," he said.

  Forty candidates are running for the 15 seats in the nine contested subsectors.

  Voters must use the chop provided to stamp the ballot paper with a tick in the circle(s) opposite the candidate(s) of his choice. Depending on the number of vacancies in a subsector, a voter may choose one to three candidates on his ballot paper.

  Four subsectors, i.e. Textiles and Garment, Architectural, Surveying and Planning, Chinese Medicine and Higher Education, each have one vacancy. Voters in these subsectors can stamp their ballot papers with only one tick to elect one candidate.

  Another four subsectors, i.e. Accountancy, Engineering, Legal and Agriculture and Fisheries, each have two vacancies. Voters concerned can stamp their ballot papers with up to two ticks to elect two candidates.

  Since the subsector of Hong Kong and Kowloon District Councils has three vacancies, voters can stamp their ballot papers with up to three ticks to elect three candidates.

  If the number of ticks exceeds what is allowed in the instructions on a ballot paper, that ballot will be invalidated and not counted.

  There will be no polls in seven other subsectors tomorrow because 12 candidates have been elected unopposed to fill the 12 vacancies. These are Finance, Import and Export, Industrial (First), Industrial (Second), Labour, Chinese People?s Political Consultative Conference and Heung Yee Kuk. Voters in these subsectors do not have to go to the polls tomorrow.

  Mr Justice Woo cautioned voters not to use mobile phone or pager, or undertake any photographing, filming and video or audio recording inside a polling station because these were offences punishable by imprisonment and fines.

   "If you abide by the notices in the polling stations and follow the advice of polling staff to switch off your mobile phone, you need not feel troubled or worried," he said.

  After the polls close at 10.30pm tomorrow, all ballot papers will be delivered to the central counting station at Hong Kong International Trade and Exhibition Centre, Kowloon Bay. There will be a designated area for people to observe the count.

  More information about the by-elections is available at www.elections.gov.hk. Hourly voter turnouts and the election results will be posted at the website.

Ends/Saturday, April 30, 2005

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