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    Nominations for the Chief Executive Election will be open from Friday (June 3) to June 16.

    "A nominee must enlist at least 100 Election Committee members to personally sign his/her nomination form," a spokesman for the Registration and Electoral Office (REO) said today (May 31).

    To qualify as a candidate, the nominee must also be a Hong Kong permanent resident aged 40 or above and a Chinese citizen with no right of abode in any foreign country. He/she must also have ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for a continuous period of not less than 20 years before the polling day.

    "The Returning Officer, Madam Justice Chu Fun-ling, Carlye, who is a judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, is responsible for vetting the validity of nominations," the spokesman said.

    A nominee must personally submit the completed nomination form to the Returning Officer at her office on 10/F Harbour Centre, 25 Harbour Road, Wan Chai, between 9am and 5pm from Monday to Friday and between 9am and noon on Saturdays during the nomination period. Nominations will not be received on Sundays or public holidays.

    Nomination forms and related information are available at the REO on 10/F Harbour Centre, 25 Harbour Road, Wan Chai. They can also be downloaded from the election website, www.elections.gov.hk. The latest information on who has handed in nomination forms will be released daily on the website.

    A poll will be held on Sunday, July 10, if more than one candidate is validly nominated.

Ends/Tuesday, May 31, 2005

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