EC members urged to vote in Legislative Council Election Committee constituency by-election tomorrow (with photos)
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The 2022 Legislative Council Election Committee constituency (ECC) by-election will be held tomorrow (December 18). The Chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC), Mr Justice David Lok, together with EAC members Mr Arthur Luk, SC, and Professor Daniel Shek said today (December 17) after their visit to the ECC polling station and central counting station on 3/F of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) that arrangements for the by-election are ready and electoral staff are trained and will spare no efforts to discharge their duties to ensure a smooth and accurate conduct of the poll and count tomorrow.
Mr Justice Lok said, "We call on the Election Committee (EC) members to cast their votes in the polling day. The EAC will closely monitor the by-election tomorrow and ensure that it is conducted in an open, fair and honest manner."
Mr Justice Lok explained the polling and counting arrangements during a media session today after the visit to the polling station and central counting station:
Polling stations and polling arrangements
Six validly nominated candidates will compete for four membership vacancies in the Legislative Council ECC in this by-election. EC members can cast their votes at the ECC polling station in Hall 3E on 3/F of the HKCEC from 9am to 11.30am. They are reminded to bring their original Hong Kong permanent identity card or other specified alternative documents for collecting ballot papers; and their name badge for access to areas relevant to the by-election in the HKCEC.
"To disperse the flow of EC members and reduce the risk of the spread of COVID-19, we appeal to EC members to vote in the polling station according to the time slots recommended in accordance with the five EC sectors. There will be more than 70 ballot paper issuing desks and about 100 voting compartments in the polling station. The distance between the facilities in the polling station will be widened as far as possible. A fever detection system will be installed at the HKCEC. EC members with fever symptoms will be directed by polling staff to a special voting compartment to vote," said Mr Justice Lok.
Based on past experience, there are expectedly more EC members when the polling station opens. EC members may be required to wait a while at the entrance of the polling station before entry. A seating area outside the polling station and a special queue will be set up for EC members in need.
"In anticipation of busy traffic tomorrow morning in the vicinity of the HKCEC, EC members are required to allow sufficient time to travel to the polling station. In addition, due to limited parking spaces at the venue, we encourage EC members to go to the polling station by public transport. EC members must arrive at the polling station before 11.30am in order to cast their votes."
"The Electronic Poll Register system will be used for issuance of ballot papers at the ECC polling station. Upon issuance of the ballot paper, EC members must use the black pen provided by the polling station to fill in the oval next to the name of each chosen candidate. Adopting the 'block vote' voting system, each EC member must elect exactly four candidates, or the ballot paper is regarded as invalid. EC members may use the checking machines set up at the ECC polling station to verify whether the relevant ovals on the ballot paper next to four candidates are filled in. After filling in the ballot paper, EC members must put the unfolded ballot paper into the envelope provided at the polling station and then insert it into the white ballot box," he said.
Mr Justice Lok emphasised that the EAC has all along attached great importance to autonomy and secrecy of the vote. The ballot is secret and the vote is conducted in a confidential manner. Pursuant to the law, ballot papers will not be printed with numbers. Polling staff are prohibited from recording which particular ballot paper is issued to an EC member. The EC members are not allowed to communicate with others in the polling station, especially not to tell others his/her voting choice or show others the choice on his/her ballot paper. The use of electronic devices for communication, taking photographs, or making video or audio recordings in the polling station is forbidden.
Similar to the Chief Executive Election held in May this year, the Registration and Electoral Office (REO) will set up a polling station at the Penny's Bay Community Isolation Facility to allow EC members who are unable to cast their votes at the ECC polling station at the HKCEC on the polling day due to isolation or quarantine for COVID-19 to cast their votes from 9am to 10.30am. EC members who need to vote at the Penny's Bay polling station should call the REO's designated hotline as soon as possible for arrangements.
Counting arrangements and election result announcement
After the close of poll, all ballot boxes will be delivered to the counting zone of the central counting station in Hall 3D on 3/F of the HKCEC. Votes will be counted with the use of an optical mark recognition system. Candidates, election agents and counting agents may be present to observe the counting of votes.
Mr Justice Lok said, "Counting staff who are familiar with the details of the counting arrangements will be engaged in the counting process. The REO has arranged a number of hands-on training sessions for electoral staff to ensure that the counting of votes can be completed within a reasonable time. After the completion of the count, the Returning Officer will announce the election result at the media centre."
Members of the public can observe the count and watch the announcement of election result in the public galleries of the counting zone and media centre in the central counting station respectively. Due to the limited number of seats in public galleries, the REO will make arrangements at 10.45am tomorrow to allow a maximum of 130 members of the public to enter the public galleries on a first-come, first-served basis until full capacity is reached.
For enquiries, please call the election hotline at 2891 1001. Information about the by-election is available on the election website (www.elections.gov.hk).
Ends/Saturday, December 17, 2022
Issued at HKT 17:25
Issued at HKT 17:25
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