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The 2012 Legislative Council Election will be held on September 9. The Registration and Electoral Office (REO) has mailed poll cards to about 3,466,000 registered electors to inform them of where they should cast their votes on polling day.
"Electors may only cast their votes at the designated polling station as specified on their poll card. They are advised to note the address of the designated polling station on their poll card to ensure that they go to the correct polling station," a spokesman for the REO said today (August 30).
"Electors can call the election hotline on 2891 1001 if they have not yet received their poll card," he said.
Recent media reports suggested that some people received poll cards sent to electors not residing in their flats.
"Members of the public are urged to return to the REO such poll cards as soon as possible or call the election hotline to provide information for REO to follow up," the spokesman said.
"Past experience shows that cases of wrongly delivered poll cards occurred mainly because electors did not update their addresses in time after they had moved home. More often than not, false registration of address was not involved," he said.
"Upon receipt of undelivered poll cards or public enquiries, the REO will contact the electors concerned to ascertain and update their registered address if needed. If it is found that the electors concerned have moved, the REO will remind them to update their registered address as soon as possible. In case the REO cannot contact the electors concerned, the REO will issue inquiry letters to them in accordance with the electoral legislation. If they do not report their updated registered address by the statutory deadline for updating registration particulars next year, their names will be deleted from the register of electors according to electoral law. Suspected falsely registered addresses identified during the inquiry process will be referred to the law enforcement agencies for follow-up action and investigation immediately," he said.
The spokesman reminds members of the public that according to section 16 of the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance, it is an offence to vote at the election after having knowingly or recklessly given false or misleading information (e.g. a false residential address) to an electoral officer.
In the forthcoming Legislative Council Election, every elector will have one vote for a geographical constituency and one vote for a functional constituency. About 3,220,000 geographical constituency electors can cast one vote each in their respective geographical constituency and the newly created District Council (second) functional constituency.
A total of 549 ordinary polling stations and 25 dedicated polling stations will be open on polling day. The polling hours for the ordinary polling stations and the three dedicated polling stations set up at police stations will be from 7.30am to 10.30pm. For security reasons, the polling hours for the 22 dedicated polling stations set up in penal institutions will be from 9am to 4pm.
"Electors should bring their identity document to the designated polling station to cast their votes. They are also advised to bring their poll card to assist the polling staff in verifying whether they are visiting the designated polling station allocated to them," the spokesman said.
In addition to the poll card, the electoral mail sent to each elector by the REO also includes a map indicating the location of the designated polling station, a voting procedure guide, two booklets introducing the candidates in their geographical constituency and functional constituency, as well as two publicity leaflets on the District Council (second) functional constituency and clean elections.
As candidates in 14 functional constituencies have been returned uncontested, electors in these constituencies will see a notification on the cover of the introductory leaflet of the candidates concerned reminding them that voting for that functional constituency is not required.
As in previous elections, the REO has made every effort to facilitate voting by the disabled and the ethnic minorities.
"In this election, over 90 per cent of the polling stations are accessible to electors with mobility difficulty or those who use wheelchairs. If required and possible, the REO will install temporary ramps at polling stations to facilitate them," the spokesman said.
The location map enclosed with the poll card specifies clearly whether the designated polling station is barrier-free.
"If needed, electors with mobility difficulty or those who use wheelchairs may apply to the REO by September 4 (i.e. at least five days before the polling day) by calling the election hotline or fax (2891 1180) for re-allocation to another polling station that is accessible to them. If possible, the REO will also arrange rehab buses to take them to and from polling stations," he said.
In addition, about 90 per cent of the candidates have provided a text version of their introduction, as requested by the REO, for uploading to the election website to enable the visually impaired to know the content. Visually impaired electors may also listen to the candidates' introductions by calling the election hotline. Braille templates will be provided at polling stations to assist visually impaired electors to vote.
To help ethnic minority electors familiarise themselves with the election, information on the election in six languages (Thai, Hindi, Bahasa Indonesia, Nepali, Urdu and Tagalog) has been uploaded to the election website. Guides on voting procedure in the above six languages will also be available at polling stations.
Photo cards showing the voting procedure will be provided at polling stations to help the hearing impaired and electors who are not familiar with Chinese and English understand the voting procedure.
The REO has also made arrangements with the Centre for Harmony and Enhancement of Ethnic Minority Residents run by the Hong Kong Christian Service to provide a telephone interpretation service to help the ethnic minorities make enquiries to the REO on polling matters.
Information about the election is available on the election website (www.elections.gov.hk). For enquiries, please call the election hotline.
Ends/Thursday, August 30, 2012
Issued at HKT 11:55
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