12.9.2004 Legislative Council Election
 
The third term Legislative Council (LegCo) election of the HKSAR will be held on 12 September 2004. Registered electors may vote in the election to return 60 LegCo members. The term of office of the new LegCo will be four years.

Powers and Functions of the LegCo

According to the Basic Law, the powers and functions of LegCo include enacting laws; examining and approving budgets introduced by the Government; approving taxation and public expenditure; receiving and debating the policy addresses of the Chief Executive; raising questions on the work of the Government; debating issues concerning public interests; and receiving and handling complaints from Hong Kong residents, etc.

The Third Term LegCo Election

In the third term LegCo, the number of seats returned by geographical constituencies will be increased from 24 to 30. The other 30 seats will be returned by functional constituencies.

Geographical Constituency (GC) Election

About 3.2 million registered electors may vote in the GC election. The territory will be divided into five GCs:
Hong Kong Island
6 seats
We will continue to adopt the list voting system in the election, using the largest remainder formula to determine election results. An elector would only need to choose one of the lists printed on the ballot paper when casting the vote.
Kowloon West
4 seats
Kowloon East
5 seats
New Territories West
8 seats
New Territories East
7 seats

Functional Constituency (FC) Election

The following 28 existing FCs will be retained in the third term LegCo:
Heung Yee Kuk
Agriculture & Fisheries
Insurance
Transport
Education
Legal
Accountancy
Medical
Health Services
Engineering
Architectural, Surveying & Planning
Labour
Social Welfare
Real Estate and Construction
Tourism
Commercial (First)
Commercial (Second)
Industrial (First)
Industrial (Second)
Finance
Financial Services
Sports, Performing Arts, Culture & Publication
Import & Export
Textiles & Garment
Wholesale & Retail
Information Technology
Catering
District Council

For the four FCs with a smaller number of electors, i.e. Heung Yee Kuk, Agriculture and Fisheries, Insurance, and Transport, the preferential elimination voting system will continue to be used. An elector must indicate the preference for each candidate in the ballot paper.

For the remaining 24 FCs, the first-past-the-post system will continue to be used to determine election results. For the Labour FC with three seats, each elector may cast up to three votes. For the other 23 FCs, each elector may cast one vote.

DOs
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Vote on election day : Sunday, 12 September 2004
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Note your designated polling station indicated on your poll card
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Go to vote during the polling hours : 7:30am to 10:30pm
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Take your poll card and ID card with you to help polling staff verify information
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Report any suspected corrupt or illegal conduct at the election to the ICAC Reporting Hotline on 25 266 366 (24 hours) - all information will be kept in strict confidence
DON'Ts
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DON'T solicit or accept any advantages (including money and gifts, etc.), food, drink or entertainment within Hong Kong or elsewhere in return for not voting at an election; or voting or not voting for a particular candidate or a particular list of candidates
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DON'T use or threaten to use force or duress against any person within Hong Kong or elsewhere for inducing the person to vote or not to vote at an election; or to vote or not to vote for a particular candidate or a particular list of candidates
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DON'T use mobile telephones or any other devices for electronic communication within a polling station
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DON'T film, take photographs or make any audio or video recording within a polling station
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DON'T put any extra marks on the ballot paper - otherwise your vote may become invalid
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DON'T wait until the last moment to go to the polling station - you may lose the opportunity to vote
* DON'T forget to vote!

Enquiries

If you have any questions concerning the 2004 LegCo election, please call the hotline of the Registration and Electoral Office at 2891 1001. For more information, you can also visit the Registration and Electoral Office website http://www.info.gov.hk/reo.

For enquiries on the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance, please call the 24-hour ICAC Election Enquiry Hotline 2920 6530. All information will be kept in strict confidence.