Hong Kong – Nominations for 2022 Legislative Council Election Committee constituency by-election to start on November 1

     The 2022 Legislative Council Election Committee constituency by-election will be held on December 18 (Sunday). The nomination period for the by-election will run from November 1 to 14.

     

     The by-election will be held to fill four vacancies in the membership of the Legislative Council Election Committee constituency. If the number of validly nominated candidates is more than four, a poll will be held on December 18.

 

     “A nominee for the Election Committee constituency by-election must be a Chinese citizen who is a Hong Kong permanent resident aged 21 or above, a registered geographical constituency elector, must also have ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for three years immediately preceding the date of his/her nomination, with no right of abode in a foreign country. A nominee needs not be a member of the Election Committee,” a spokesman for the Registration and Electoral Office (REO) said today (October 18).

 

     “Details of the eligibility to be nominated as a candidate, disqualification from being nominated as a candidate and from being elected as a member, and the requirements to be complied with by persons nominated as candidates, are set out in sections 37, 39 and 40 of the Legislative Council Ordinance (Cap. 542) respectively,” the spokesman said.

 

     Each nominee for the Election Committee constituency by-election must be subscribed by at least 10 but not more than 20 members of the Election Committee, which must include at least two but not more than four members from each of the five sectors of the Election Committee. A member of the Election Committee may subscribe only one nomination form of the Election Committee constituency by-election.

 

     “Nominees are advised to submit their nominations as early as possible, so that should there be any mistakes in the nomination forms, they could be rectified before the deadline,” the spokesman added.

 

     Nomination forms are available at the offices of the REO at 10/F, Harbour Centre, 25 Harbour Road, Wan Chai, or Unit 2301-03, 23/F, Millennium City 6, 392 Kwun Tong Road, Kwun Tong, Kowloon. They can also be downloaded from the REO website (www.reo.gov.hk). The notice of the by-election and the notice of appointment of the Returning Officer, with his office address, will be published in the Gazette later.

 

     Completed nomination forms and the election deposit of $25,000 must be submitted by the nominees in person to the Returning Officer within the nomination period. Nominations are accepted between 9am and 5pm on Mondays to Fridays and between 9am and noon on Saturdays. Nominees are also encouraged to pay the election deposit by cash or cashier order to avoid other situations arising from a cheque not being honoured.

 

     Separately, pursuant to section 16(3A)(b) of the Electoral Affairs Commission (Electoral Procedure) (Legislative Council) Regulation (Cap. 541D), in deciding whether a candidate is validly nominated, the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee (CERC) may require the candidate to furnish any other information that the CERC considers appropriate to be satisfied that the candidate is eligible to be nominated as a candidate or otherwise as to the validity of the nomination. The CERC now requests each nominee to complete the “Candidate Eligibility Review Supplementary Information Form” (Supplementary Information Form) and submit it to the CERC Secretariat as soon as possible but no later than 5pm of November 14 through any of the following means:

(i) place the completed Supplementary Information Form in a separate and sealed envelope, and submit it together with the nomination form to the Returning Officer who would arrange onward transmission to the CERC Secretariat; or

(ii) submit the completed Supplementary Information Form directly to the CERC Secretariat by using one of the following channels:

1. email to cerc_secretariat@cerc.gov.hk;
2. fax to 2505 0673; or
3. return to the drop-in box of the CERC Secretariat set up at the entrance on 2/F, East Wing, Central Government Offices, 2 Tim Mei Avenue, Tamar, Hong Kong.

 

     The Supplementary Information Form is distributed together with the nomination forms and can be downloaded from the REO website.

 

     Copies of the nomination forms are available for public inspection during ordinary business hours after the start of the nomination period at the office of the Returning Officer or REO office at Unit 2301-03, 23/F, Millennium City 6, 392 Kwun Tong Road, Kwun Tong, Kowloon. Members of the public may inspect copies of the nomination forms until the related notice of the result of election is published in the Gazette.

 

     For enquiries, please call the election hotline on 2891 1001.