The Election Committee (EC) responsible for electing the Chief Executive is composed of representatives from four sectors, each with 200 members, namely-

• Industrial, commercial and financial sectors;
• The professions;
• Labour, social services, religious and other sectors; and
• Members of the Legislative Council (LegCo), representatives of district-based organizations, Hong Kong deputies to the National People's Congress (NPC), and representatives of Hong Kong members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

The EC members were returned by elections, with the exception of the ex-officio members (LegCo members and Hong Kong deputies to the NPC), and members from the religious subsector who were returned by nomination.