​The Government published the Rural Representative Election (Amendment) Bill 2022 (the Bill) in the Gazette today (May 13). 

     The Bill seeks to introduce the requirement for a person elected as a Rural Representative (RR) to sign a written oath to uphold the Basic Law and bear allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China before holding office, and to provide for the consequences of declining or neglecting to take the oath or breaching the oath. The Bill also includes technical amendments relating to the inspection of omissions list and interpretation of election advertisement to align with the arrangements for other public elections.

     A government spokesman said, "The legislative exercise seeks to refine the arrangements for the RR election in the run-up to the next Rural Ordinary Election in early 2023. The refinements being proposed, including the oath-taking requirement, are similar to those adopted for other public elections overseen by the Electoral Affairs Commission." 

     The Bill will be introduced into the Legislative Council (LegCo) for first reading and second reading on May 18. The Government will fully complement the work of LegCo in scrutinising the Bill with a view to securing its early passage.

Ends/Friday, May 13, 2022
Issued at HKT 16:05

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