The nomination period for the April Election Committee subsector elections is due to start on Friday (March 13).

Prospective candidates may obtain nomination forms from the Returning Officer of the respective subsector; District Offices; the Registration and Electoral Office on the 10th floor of Harbour Centre, 25 Harbour Road, Wan Chai, and the website of the Hong Kong Administrative Region Government Information Centre.

Completed forms should be returned to the relevant Returning Officer in person during office hours from March 13 to 20.

Except for the ex-officio members, and the Religious Subsector, which will nominate its representatives, about 664 seats on the Election Committee will be returned by elections.

A spokesman for the Registration and Electoral Office today reminded prospective candidates to submit forms as early as possible to allow time for any errors to be corrected before the close of nominations.

A nomination form should be subscribed by at least five voters registered for the subsector concerned.

The spokesman advised candidates to include more than the minimum required number of subscribers in their nomination forms to avoid the risk of invalidation of their nominations should any subscribers be found not to be voters for the subsector concerned.

Each nomination paper must be handed in together with an election deposit of $1,000.

To qualify for nomination, a candidate must be aged 18 or above and is a registered elector for a geographical constituency. He must also either be a registered voter for the respective subsector or satisfy the Returning Officer that he has a substantial connection with the subsector, and he must not be disqualified from being a subsector candidate.

A candidate cannot be nominated for more than one subsector, the spokesman said.

Enquiries on the nomination procedure may be made on the election hotline - 2588 1212.