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Electors of the Yuen Long District Council Shap Pat Heung North Constituency are urged to cast their ballots in the by-election in their constituency tomorrow (June 26).
Three polling stations will open to electors from 7.30am to 10.30pm. They are located at the Buddhist Wing Yan School, 6 Fung Yau Street South, Yuen Long; Yuen Long Government Primary School, Yau Chuen Street, Au Tau, Yuen Long; and Chung Sing School, 29 Kau Hui Road, Yuen Long.
Electors are advised to read carefully the address of the designated polling station on their poll cards indicating where they should cast their votes.
"Voting is very simple. It just takes a few minutes to vote," a spokesman for the Registration and Electoral Office said today (June 25).
"All electors need to do is to show their identity document at the polling station, use the chop provided to stamp a 'tick' on the ballot paper in the circle opposite to the name of the chosen candidate, and fold the ballot paper inward in half before putting it into the ballot box," he said.
For electors of the Shap Pat Heung North Constituency who are remanded or detained by law enforcement agencies other than the Correctional Services Department (CSD) on the polling day of the by-election, and who have expressed their wish to vote in the by-election, they will be arranged to vote at the dedicated polling station located at the Yuen Long Police Station, 246 Castle Peak Road, Yuen Long. The polling hours will be from 7.30am to 10.30pm.
Eight dedicated polling stations will also be set up in penal institutions for electors in the constituency who are imprisoned or remanded in the CSD's custody to cast their votes in their respective penal institutions. For security reasons, the polling hours will be from 9am to 4pm.
The voting procedure for electors and the venue set up at the dedicated polling station are basically the same as those of the ordinary polling stations.
The spokesman reminded people that according to the law, the polling stations are restricted areas accessible only by electors and authorised people.
"Unauthorised people are strictly prohibited from using mobile phones, taking photographs, filming, making video or audio recordings in the polling stations," he said.
An election hotline, 2891 1001, will operate from 7am to 11pm tomorrow to answer enquiries relating to the by-election.
A complaints hotline, 2827 7251, will also be in service during the polling hours (from 7.30am to 10.30pm tomorrow) to handle complaints about breaches of electoral rules and guidelines.
Once the poll is closed, the polling stations at the Buddhist Wing Yan School, Yuen Long Government Primary School and Chung Sing School will be converted into counting stations. People are welcome to watch the vote counting within the designated areas in the counting stations.
To protect the secrecy of votes, ballot boxes of the dedicated polling stations will be delivered to the main counting station at the Buddhist Wing Yan School after the close of poll for mixing with other ballot papers cast by other electors before counting.
"The Returning Officer will announce the election results at the counting station at the Buddhist Wing Yan School," the spokesman said.
The two candidates contesting the by-election are Shum Ho-kit (No. 1), and Cheng Yin-ping (No. 2).
The elected candidate will fill the vacant office for an elected member of the Yuen Long District Council.
Ends/Saturday, June 25, 2011
Issued at HKT 16:54
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