Electoral procedure for the 1999 District Councils election

To govern the electoral procedure relating to the conduct of the 1999 District Councils election (held on 28 November), including the publication of a voter register, the nomination of candidates, polling arrangements and the counting of ballots, has been laid down in a regulation made by the Electoral Affairs Commission drew up a regulation, known as the "Electoral Affairs Commission (Electoral Procedure) (District Councils) Regulation."

The Regulation was drawn up after the Commission had considered all the public views received in connection with a public consultation exercise on the proposed electoral guidelines held during the period 12 April - 11 May 1999. A total of 28 written representations were received and 15 persons addressed the Commission at a public forum.

The Regulation, gazetted on 4 June, was tabled in the Legislative Council on 9 June and came into operation on 1 August.

Explaining the new features of the Regulation at a press conference on 2 June, the Commission Chairman, Mr Justice Woo Kwok-hing, said: "Voting will be made simpler. Chops bearing the mark of a 'tick' will be provided at every polling station for electors to mark their ballot paper."

"Just use the chop to stamp a 'tick' in the circle opposite the name of the candidate of your choice. Don't use a pen or other means to mark the ballot. It will invalidate your vote," he said.

"We hope that the way ballot papers are marked will be standardised. Fewer questionable ballots means less disputes. Returning Officers may not have to rule on the validity of a large number of questionable ballots."

"If this new measure works, we may consider the possibility of conducting the count direct at polling stations in future elections," he said.

The form of the ballot paper, as prescribed in Schedule 2 to the Regulation, was designed with clear instructions to direct an elector to apply the chop properly.

Another new improvement concerned the publication of a voter register in September 1999. "In the light of public concern about the privacy of personal data, only the name, address and constituency of an elector will be published for public inspection. Their identity card number and sex will not be made public," he said.

As in previous elections, an area outside a polling station was designated as a no canvassing zone to ensure the smooth passage of electors into and out of the polling station. But restrictions inside the zone were slightly relaxed.

The Regulation stipulates that door-to-door canvassing on the storeys above or below street level in a building within the zone is permitted if electors are not obstructed and no loud-hailers are used. Door-to-door canvassing will be banned in a building where a polling station is situated.

Certain requirements candidates must meet in the display of election advertisements were made in line with provisions in the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Ordinance. Within seven days after a candidate displays election advertisements, he must submit a declaration together with two samples or photographs of the publicity materials to the Returning Officer. Previously, candidates were required to submit the declaration before the display of advertisements.

The Regulation also stipulates that a candidate must deposit with the Returning Officer a copy of the written authorisation or permit for putting up publicity materials on private land or property no later than seven days after he displays the materials. These provisions help the monitoring of election advertisements displayed by candidates and the checking of election expenses.

Turning to matters covered in the proposed guidelines which had drawn wide public discussions, Mr Justice Woo said the Commission had decided to modify some proposals in response to public views.

"Having heard a good deal of comments about the impact on the livelihood of media personalities, we decide to narrow down restrictions on television and radio presenters and regular columnists to those contesting the election themselves."

If presenters or columnists were to enter the race, they should suspend their usual role in a programme or contributing articles from the start of the nomination period up to the conclusion of the election.

"It is beyond dispute that candidates should not gain extra publicity unfairly through their role as a presenter or a columnist," he said.

The Commission dropped the proposed restriction on presenters and columnists who were members of a political organisation that had members contesting the election.

"I wish to emphasise that the Commission has a duty to ensure that an election is fair, open and honest. We have no intention of restricting freedom of speech. Neither do we intend to deter media people from entering politics. We are duty-bound to ensure that all candidates can compete fairly," he said.

Another major modification related to the use of loud-hailers. "We appreciate the need of candidates to campaign and we strongly support upholding electors' right to receive electioneering information, but candidates' activities should not disturb the public. The Commission decides to slightly relax the time restriction after weighing these considerations," he said.

That is, candidates were required not to use loud-hailers in their campaign between 9 pm (not 7 pm as proposed) and 9 am.

The guidelines were issued on 13 September 1999.