********************************************************
Electors of the Tsuen Wan District Council Fuk Loi Constituency are urged to vote in the by-election in their constituency tomorrow (July 24).
A polling station, which is located at the Holy Cross Lutheran School, 31 Lo Tak Court, Tsuen Wan, will open to electors from 7.30am to 10.30pm.
Electors are reminded 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 (July 23).
"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 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 Fuk Loi 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, arrangements have been made for them to vote at the dedicated polling station located at the Hong Kong Police Lei Muk Shue Operational Base, 302 Wo Yi Hop Road, Kwai Chung. The polling hours will be from 7.30am to 10.30pm.
Nine 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 and the venue set up at the dedicated polling stations are basically the same as those of the ordinary polling station.
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, and making video or audio recordings in the polling stations," he said.
Enquiries on the by-election can be made to the election hotline at 2891 1001, which will operate from 7am to 11pm tomorrow.
A complaints hotline, 2827 7251, will also be in service from 7.30am to 10.30pm tomorrow to handle complaints about breaches of electoral rules and guidelines.
Once the poll is closed, the polling station at the Holy Cross Lutheran School will be converted into a counting station. People are welcome to watch the vote counting within the designated area in the counting station.
To protect the secrecy of votes, ballot boxes of the dedicated polling stations will be delivered to the main counting station at the Holy Cross Lutheran School for opening after the close of polling. The ballot papers concerned will be mixed with the ballot papers cast at the main counting station before counting of votes begins.
"The Returning Officer will announce the election results at the counting station at the Holy Cross Lutheran School," the spokesman said.
The two candidates contesting the by-election are Kot Siu-yuen (No. 1), and Mui Yee-ling (No. 2).
The elected candidate will fill the vacant office for an elected member of the Tsuen Wan District Council.
Ends/Saturday, July 23, 2011
Issued at HKT 17:06
NNNN
