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The following is issued on behalf of the Electoral Affairs Commission:
The Electoral Affairs Commission (Electoral Procedure) (Legislative Council) (Amendment) Regulation 2008 will be gazetted on Thursday (March 20).
The amendment regulation provides for amendments to the Electoral Affairs Commission (Electoral Procedure) (Legislative Council) Regulation, which covers electoral procedures for Legislative Council elections.
"The amendments mainly tally the electoral procedures for Legislative Council elections, where appropriate, with those for the Election Committee Subsector, Chief Executive and District Council elections," a commission spokesman said today (March 18).
The legislative amendments include stating that in addition to the candidates, their election agents and counting agents, polling agents may also stay in the polling station when it is converted into a counting station. Candidates, election agents or counting agents are also allowed to inspect ballot papers which are clearly invalid.
The polling-cum-counting arrangement will be adopted for the counting of geographical constituency votes for the 2008 Legco election. It is expected that some of the polling-cum-counting stations will be set up in places, such as schools, which need to be returned to the management of the venue in the early morning following the polling day. The amendment regulation provides that if it appears to the commission that a counting station is no longer available or suitable for the counting, the commission may direct that the counting is to take place or continue to take place at another counting station. The Returning Officer must give notice to the relevant candidates of the time and place at which counting is to take place or continue to take place.
The amendment regulation will be tabled at the Legislative Council on April 9. Subject to the passage of the amendment regulation, the revised arrangements will apply to the 2008 Legislative Council general election in September this year.
Ends/Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Issued at HKT 19:01
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