​The Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak, today (January 15) visited a 2023 Rural Ordinary Election polling station for Cheung Chau Market Town.
     
     The Rural Ordinary Election held every four years is an election conducted in accordance with the Rural Representative Election Ordinance and the relevant subsidiary legislation. The election is conducted by the Home Affairs Department and supervised by the Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC), and has always been conducted in an open, fair and honest manner. The Ordinance covers two types of rural representatives to be elected in accordance with the law, namely the Village Representatives and the Kaifong Representatives. The Village Representative (including Indigenous Inhabitant Representative and Resident Representative) Election was conducted smoothly on January 8, while the Kaifong Representative Election (KFRE) is held today.
 
     Miss Mak today visited a KFRE polling station at Cheung Chau Sports Centre and noted the proper arrangement and smooth operation. Given the large number of electors in Cheung Chau, longer polling hours (from 8.30am to 9.30pm today) have been arranged to enable electors to vote. Moreover, in light of the epidemic situation, special polling stations have been set up at the Penny's Bay Community Isolation Facility and Cheung Chau to enable registered electors who are under isolation to cast their votes.
 
     Miss Mak would like to appeal to all registered electors to vote for their desired candidates for building a harmonious community in Cheung Chau. She also expressed her gratitude to all supporting parties of the Rural Representative Election, especially the EAC Chairman, Mr Justice David Lok, and Commission members Mr Arthur Luk, SC and Professor Daniel Shek. They have been working tirelessly to monitor the polling and counting of votes to ensure that the election is held in accordance with the law.
 
     There are 84 validly nominated candidates in the KFRE, of which 67 candidates from Cheung Chau Market Town contest for 39 seats, while the 17 candidates of the Kaifong representatives of Peng Chau Market Town were returned uncontested.

Ends/Sunday, January 15, 2023
Issued at HKT 11:18

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