The passage of the Legislative Council Bill in the Provisional Legislative Council (PLC) marks an important step in the election of the first SAR legislature as a legal framework for the electoral arrangements is now in place.

The Secretary for Constitutional Affairs, Mr Michael Suen, made the remark early this (Sunday) morning as the bill was passed into law after an 18-hour debate in the PLC.

"We are now in a position to move forward in preparing for the elections to be held in May next year," Mr Suen continued.

However, Mr Suen pointed out that a committee stage amendment concerning the social welfare sector would be difficult to implement.

"I made this point very clear during the debate, but PLC members still chose to vote for the amendment. It was adopted after a proper debate and the Administration fully respects the decision of the PLC," Mr Suen said.

"We will study the amendment carefully to see how best to take things forward so as to ensure that the election will be open, fair, honest and acceptable to the people of Hong Kong," he said.

Mr Suen thanked the members of the Bills Committee for their hard work and the great effort they made in adhering to the SAR Government's tight election timetable. He also thanked Members for passing the large number of amendments which the Administration had proposed, many of which in response to Members' positive suggestions.