Election Brief

Brief

• Under the Basic Law, the Legislative Council (“LegCo”) is the Legislature of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (“HKSAR”). Its functions are to enact, amend or repeal laws; approve taxation and public expenditure; and raise questions on the work of the Government; as well as receiving and handling complaints from Hong Kong residents. Annex II to the Basic Law stipulates that the LegCo of the HKSAR shall be composed of 90 Members retuned by the Election Committee (“EC”) (40 Members), functional constituencies (“FCs”) (30 Members) and geographical constituencies (“GCs”) through direct elections.


• Pursuant to the Legislative Council Ordinance (Cap. 542), to enable the election for the eighth term of the Legislative Council to be held, the Chief Executive has designated 24 October 2025 as the date on which the seventh term of the Legislative Council ceases to be in session, and its operation shall thereby terminate.

Nomination period

• Nomination period: 24 October 2025 (Friday) to 6 November 2025 (Thursday)
• Nomination forms can be downloaded from the Registration and Electoral Office website (www.reo.gov.hk), or collected at the following offices:
  
  
  1. District Offices;
  2. Office of the Returning Officers; or
  3. Offices of the Registration and Electoral Office (8/F, Treasury Building, 3 Tonkin Street West, Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon or Unit 2301-03, 23/F, Millennium City 6, 392 Kwun Tong Road, Kwun Tong, Kowloon)
• Completed nomination forms and the election deposit must be submitted by the nominees in person to the relevant Returning Officers between 9am and 5pm from Mondays to Fridays and between 9am and noon on Saturdays within the nomination period (other than a general holiday). Notices for the election and the appointment of Returning Officers (with their office addresses) will be uploaded to the REO website (www.reo.gov.hk) and this dedicated election website (www.elections.gov.hk)

Polling Day Arrangement

• Polling day: 7 December 2025 (Sunday)
• Polling hours: 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. (except for dedicated polling stations situated in penal institutions where the polling hours will be from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.)
• The estimated queuing time will be provided outside polling stations and on this dedicated election website for the Legislative Council General Election on the polling day to enable electors to choose to vote at a time with fewer people.

Who can Vote

• Only the members whose names have been included in the final register of the Election Committee members are eligible to nominate and vote in the Election Committee Constituency (“ECC”). The register is published on 17 September 2025.
• Only the registered electors whose names have been included in the 2025 final register of electors for GCs and the registered individual and corporate electors whose names have been included in the 2025 final register of electors for FCs are eligible to cast their votes in the GC and/or FC election. The relevant registers are published on 25 September 2025.

Election Committee Constituency

Nomination and Candidature

• All registered GC electors aged 21 or above who have ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for 3 years immediately preceding the nomination can be nominated as candidates, i.e. candidates need not be members of the EC.
• Each candidate shall be nominated by no less than 10, but no more than 20, members of the EC, including no less than 2 but no more than 4 members from each of the 5 sectors of the EC.
• An EC member, in his capacity as an EC member, is entitled to nominate only 1 candidate for an ECC election.

Polling

• The “block vote” system is adopted. Not more than and not less than 40 candidates shall be voted on the ballot paper. The 40 candidates who obtain the greatest numbers of votes shall be returned.

Functional Constituencies

Nomination and Candidature

• All registered GC electors aged 21 or above who have ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for 3 years immediately preceding the nomination; and registered electors of the relevant FCs or have a substantial connection with that FC can be nominated as candidates.
• Candidates must fulfill the following two criteria:
  
  
  1. Nominated by no less than 10, but no more than 20 electors of the respective FC; and
  2. Nominated by no less than 10, but no more than 20 members of the EC, including no less than 2 but no more than 4 members from each of the 5 sectors of the EC.


• An FC elector, in his capacity as an FC elector, is entitled to nominate only 1 candidate for his own FC (or up to3 nomination forms in the case of the Labour FC).
• An EC member, in his capacity as an EC member, is entitled to nominate only 1 candidate for an FC election.

Polling

• The “first past the post” voting system is adopted in FC elections. Among the 28 FCs, aside from electors of the Labour FC who can vote for up to 3 candidates, the electors of the remaining 27 FCs can only vote for 1 candidate. The 3 candidates receiving the highest number of votes in the Labour FC shall be elected. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes in each of other FCs shall be elected as the member for the respective FC.

Geographical Constituencies

• The territories of Hong Kong will be divided into 10 GCs. Each constituency shall return 2 Members. 10 GCs are as below:

Nomination and Candidature

• All registered GC electors aged 21 or above who have ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for 3 years immediately preceding the nomination can be nominated as candidates.
• Candidates must fulfill the following two criteria:
  
  
  1. Nominated by no less than 100, but no more than 200 electors of the respective GC; and
  2. Nominated by no less than 10, but no more than 20 members of the EC, including no less than 2 but no more than 4 members from each of the 5 sectors of the EC.


• A GC elector, in his capacity as a GC elector, is entitled to nominate only 1 candidate for his own GC.
• An EC member, in his capacity as an EC member, is entitled to nominate only 1 candidate for a GC election.

Polling

• The “double seats and single vote” voting system is adopted. Each elector of a GC may vote for1 candidate. The 2 candidates who obtain the greatest numbers of votes in each GC shall be returned.

Where to Vote

• Members of the Election Committee will cast their votes for the Election Committee constituency, geographical constituency and functional constituency (if applicable) at the ECC polling station.
• Except ECC electors, each elector or authorized representative will cast their votes for the geographical constituency and functional constituency (if applicable) at the designated ordinary polling station near his/her residential address registered in the Final Register of Electors.
• Electors or authorized representative in custody will be arranged to vote at dedicated polling stations in penal institutions or police stations as appropriate.
• A poll card showing information about the designated polling station of an individual elector or authorized representative will be issued to the respective electors or authorized representative latest 10 days before the polling day (latest by 27 November 2025).
• Whether the polling station allocated to an elector or authorized representative is accessible to wheelchair users or persons have mobility difficulty will be specified in the iAM Smart and in location map attached to the poll card. If such electors or authorized representative have difficulty in going to the polling station allocated, they may apply to the Registration and Electoral Office to vote at the special polling station designated for the same geographical constituency for which he/she is entitled to vote by fax (2891 1180), by email (reoenq@reo.gov.hk), by telephone (2891 1001) or by mail (8/F, Treasury Building, 3 Tonkin Street West, Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon) not later than 2 December 2025.
• If electors or authorized representatives need assistance in interpreting the information on voting, they can call the Centre for Harmony and Enhancement of Ethnic Minority Residents (“CHEER”) through the following hotline from 24 to 28 November 2025, and from 1 to 7 December 2025.



Language	Hotline No.
Bahasa Indonesia	3755 6811
Hindi	3755 6877
Nepali	3755 6822
Punjabi	3755 6844
Tagalog	3755 6855
Thai	3755 6866
Urdu	3755 6833
Vietnamese	3755 6888

Special Queue for Electors in Need

• Only electors and authorized representatives are allowed entry into a polling station to vote.
• Under the "fair and equal treatment" principle, electors and authorized representatives must queue to vote. Electors and authorized representatives requiring assistance from others for entering into a polling station may make a request to the Presiding Officer.
• If the Presiding Officer is satisfied that a person who arrives at, or is present in, the polling station to vote falls within below description, the Presiding Officer may direct the person to immediately proceed to the designated area or the end of the queue if there is a queue extending from that area, to apply for a ballot paper —
  
  
  • who is not less than 70 years of age*;
  • who is pregnant; or
  • who is not able to queue for a long time or has difficulty in queuing because of illness, injury, disability or dependence on mobility aids.
  
  * Including whose document shows the year of birth, without the month and/or day of birth, of the person which is 70 years earlier than the year within which the polling day falls (that is in or before 1955)


• The Presiding Officer will also designate a seating area inside the polling station for the above electors or authorized representatives to take a rest, if they so wish. After resting, they can queue up along the special queue before being directed to the ballot paper issuing desks to collect ballot paper(s).
• Based on the principles of the autonomy of voting and secrecy of votes, the law prohibits anyone (even if he/she is an elector’s relative or friend) from accompanying or assisting the elector or the authorized representative to cast his/her vote. An elector or an authorized representative who has difficulty in marking the ballot paper by himself/herself may, in accordance with the law, ask the Presiding Officer or the deputy to mark the ballot paper on his/her behalf according to his/her voting preference, in the presence of one polling staff as a witness. The Presiding Officer has been allowed to exercise discretion, where appropriate, to allow accompanying persons to use the special queue together with electors who have a genuine need to be accompanied by others.

Document(s) Required for Collecting a Ballot Paper

• Under the prevailing legislation, the elector or authorized representative applying for a ballot paper should produce the original of his/her valid HKID card or the following specified alternative document(s):
  
  
  • the original of a valid HKSAR Passport; or
  • the original of Certificate of Exemption; or
  • the original of an acknowledgement of application for the HKID card; or
  • the original of the person’s valid seaman’s identity book; or
  • the original of the person’s valid document of identity for visa purposes; or
  • a document evidencing a report to a police officer of the loss or destruction of the person’s HKID card or the Certificate of Exemption or the acknowledgement of application for the HKID card (commonly referred to as “a memo of lost property”), together with the original of a valid passport* or similar travel document (e.g. a passport other than the HKSAR Passport or the Home Return Permit) showing his/her name and photograph.
    * British National (Overseas) passport is not a valid travel document and proof of identity.


• For details, please refer to Section 50 of the Electoral Affairs Commission (Electoral Procedure) (Legislative Council) Regulation (Cap. 541D).

Reminder for Electors/Authorized Representatives

• According to the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance (Cap. 554) enforced by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (“ICAC”), an elector or an authorized representative MUST NOT conduct the following acts within Hong Kong or elsewhere:
  
  
  • Solicit or accept any advantage (including money, gift, etc.), food, drink or entertainment from any person for not voting at an election, or voting or not voting for a particular candidate or particular candidates at an election.
  • Wilfully obstruct and prevent any person from voting at an election.
  • Incite another person not to vote or to cast invalid vote at an election by carrying out any activity in public during the election period.
  • Vote at an election knowing that he/she is not entitled to do so; or vote at an election after having knowingly or recklessly given materially false or misleading information (e.g. false residential address) to an electoral officer.
  • (Otherwise than as expressly permitted by an electoral law) Apply for a ballot paper in the name of another person or, having voted at an election, apply at the same election for a ballot paper in the person’s own name.
  • Without lawful authority, supply a ballot paper to another person; deface or destroy a ballot paper.
  • Incur election expenses for a candidate at an election without being authorized in writing by the candidate as the election expense agent.
  • Publish a materially false or misleading statement of fact about a particular candidate or particular candidates at an election.
  • Publish an election advertisement that includes the support from any person or organization without prior written consent from the supporting person or organization.


• The ICAC has set up a Clean Election Website (www.icac.org.hk/elections) to provide election stakeholders with reference materials and information on its publicity programmes.


• The following actions are also prohibited in a polling station:
  
  
  • Communicate with other electors and authorized representatives including showing his/her vote on the ballot paper to others or use mobile telephones or any other device for electronic communication.
  • Film, take photographs or make any audio or video recording.
  • Ask other electors or authorized representatives to mark his/her ballot paper. In case of need, electors or authorized representatives may, in accordance of the law, request the Presiding Officer to mark his/her ballot paper in the presence of a polling officer.
  • Interfere with other electors or authorized representatives who are casting their votes.