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The following is issued on behalf of the Electoral Affairs Commission:
The Electoral Affairs Commission held a public forum today (October 20) to gauge the views of the public on the Proposed Guidelines on Election-related Activities in respect of the Chief Executive Election.
Speaking at the public forum, the Commission Chairman Mr Justice Barnabas Fung Wah said, "The proposed guidelines are mostly the same as the Guidelines on Election-related Activities in respect of the Chief Executive Election released in 2006. The major alterations are mainly to reflect the legislative amendments which have been passed by the Legislative Council earlier this year and, also, to effect technical amendments to certain procedural arrangements in order to align with the Guidelines on Election-related Activities in respect of the District Council Election released in September this year.
"The 2012 Chief Executive Election will be held in March next year. Although the proposed guidelines are at the consultation stage, it is important that candidates should follow and abide by all relevant regulations and guidelines mentioned or referred to therein. Anyone who intends to run for the election should follow the existing guidelines and also the latest amendments in the proposed guidelines. If there are any queries, they can contact the Electoral Affairs Commission," he said.
"In addition, the Commission has uploaded onto the Commission's website the electoral forms which may be needed by candidates at this stage, including the specified forms required for declaration of election advertisements and appointment of election agents. Candidates or their agents may download the forms from the website for use.
"The Commission will carefully consider all the views collected during the consultation period and will aim to issue the final guidelines in November," Mr Justice Fung said.
The public consultation for the proposed guidelines will end on October 24. The Commission invites members of the public to send written representations during the consultation period by post (10/F, Harbour Centre, 25 Harbour Road, Wan Chai); by fax (2511 1682); or by email (eacenq@reo.gov.hk) to the Commission's Secretariat on or before October 24.
The proposed guidelines can be downloaded from the Commission' s website at www.eac.gov.hk. They are also available at the Registration and Electoral Office and the Public Enquiry Service Centres of District Offices.
For enquiries, please call 2891 1001.
Ends/Thursday, October 20, 2011
Issued at HKT 20:51
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