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CHAPTER 3
REGISTRATION OF ELECTORS AND VOTERS
Section 1 : Qualifications
Section 2 : Registration Regulations
Section 3 : The Registration Campaign
Section 4 : Publication of the Registers
Section 5 : Appeals
Section 6 : Number of Electors
Section 1 : Qualifications
3.1
The LegCo Ord provides for qualifications for eligibility to
be registered as electors for the GCs, FCs and members of the EC for the
2000 LegCo elections.
GC
3.2
An individual is eligible to be registered as a GC elector if
he/she is a Hong Kong permanent resident, ordinarily resides in Hong
Kong, reaches 18 years of age on or before 25 May 2000, holds an
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identity document and provides the address of his/her only or principal
residence in his/her application [see ss 27, 28, 29 and 30 of the LegCo
Ord].
FC
3.3
The LegCo Ord provides for 28 FCs, two of which are newly
added for this election, namely the Catering FC and the District Council
FC, which replace the former Urban Council and Regional Council FCs.
The qualifications for FC electors are based on membership of
professional or trade organisations in the relevant FC or having close
connection with the FC. The FC electorate consists of both natural
persons and corporate bodies. The first requirement for a natural person
to be an FC elector is that the person must be a GC elector. Nineteen of
the 28 FCs consist of corporate electors. A corporate elector is required
to cast its vote through an authorised representative (“AR”) who is a
natural person and a GC elector appointed by the corporate elector to
vote on its behalf. The appointment or replacement of the AR must be
registered with the Electoral Registration Officer (“ERO”). A person
who is qualified to be an elector of more than one FC can only become
an elector of one of the FCs. In some cases, he/she has a choice, but in
some others, he/she is only entitled to be registered in a particular FC
without any choice in spite of his/her multiple qualifications. The
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availability of a choice or otherwise can be seen in Appendix I. An FC
elector cannot be an AR for the same FC. Also an AR cannot be
appointed as the AR of another corporate elector at the same time.
EC
3.4
The EC, which is to consist of a maximum of 800 members,
comprises representatives from four sectors which are in turn composed
of a total of 38 subsectors. Details can be found in Appendix II.
Persons holding office on 30 June 2000 as Hong Kong deputies to the
National People’s Congress (“NPC”) and Members of the LegCo are
ex-officio members of the EC, and the EC members from the Religious
subsector are to be nominated by the constituent organisations of that
subsector. Apart from these three categories which are three of the
subsectors, the other 35 subsectors are to return their representatives on
the EC by way of election. Of these 35 subsectors, 31 correspond to the
28 FCs in name and composition, with the Education FC, the Tourism FC
and the District Council FC each having two corresponding subsectors
(see items 9, 25 and 28 in Appendix I).
3.5
Those entitled to vote in a GC or an FC in the LegCo general
election are called “electors”, as distinguished from those entitled to vote
in the subsector elections, who are called “voters”. The electors of an
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FC are also qualified to be voters of the corresponding subsector.
3.6
Similar to the FC situation, there are also corporate voters in
a number of subsectors who can only cast their votes through an AR. A
corporate body which is a corporate elector of an FC and also a corporate
voter of a subsector must appoint the same individual as its AR to cast its
vote in both the FC and subsector elections. The appointment or
replacement of the AR must be registered with the ERO.
3.7
An elector of an FC who is elected in the EC subsector
elections to become an EC member is not entitled to vote in the FC at the
general election. However, an ex-officio EC member who is also
registered as an elector for an FC has a choice to vote at the election of
the FC for which he/she is registered or at the EC election. The choice
must be made by such an ex-officio member before compilation of the
EC final register. An EC member must also be a GC elector.
3.8
Taking all of the above qualification provisions into account,
a permanent resident of Hong Kong who ordinarily resides in Hong Kong
and who has reached the age of 18 years is entitled to be a GC elector.
He/she can, if he/she so qualifies, also be an FC elector and also an AR
of another FC. Alternatively, he/she can be an EC member if he/she so
qualifies or if he/she is returned by the election of one of the subsectors,
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but in such a case, he/she will no longer be entitled to vote in his/her FC,
save that if he/she is an ex-officio EC member, he/she can have a choice
to vote at either the FC election or the EC election. In simple terms, a
person can be
(a)
a GC elector only, voting for the GC in which his/her only or
principal place of residence is situate;
(b)
a GC elector and an FC elector, having two votes;
(c)
a GC elector and an FC AR, having two votes, one for
himself/herself and the other for the corporate elector of
which he/she is the AR;
(d)
a GC elector and an FC elector and an AR of another FC,
having three votes in total;
(e)
a GC elector and an EC member, having two votes; or
(f)
a GC elector and an EC member as well as an AR of an FC,
having three votes altogether.
3.9
For the 35 subsectors, if he/she so qualifies, a natural person
can be a voter of one of these subsectors, and can in addition be an AR of
a corporate voter of another subsector.
Section 2 : Registration Regulations
3.10
Two sets of regulations were made for the purpose of setting
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out the procedure relating to the registration of electors. The Electoral
Affairs Commission (Registration of Electors) (Legislative Council
Geographical Constituencies) (District Council Constituencies)
Regulation (“EAC(ROE)(GC) Reg”) governs the registration of electors
for the GCs. The Electoral Affairs Commission (Registration) (Electors
for Functional Constituencies) (Voters for Subsectors) (Members of
Election Committee) (Legislative Council) Regulation (“EAC(R)(FCSEC)
Reg”) caters for the registration of electors of the FCs, members of the
EC, and voters for the subsectors.
3.11
In order to convenience potential electors for FCs and
potential voters for subsectors and to facilitate their registration, the
EAC(R)(FCSEC) Reg makes provisions for a notification process,
consisting mainly of the following measures:
(a)
Public authorities and representative organisations are
required by the ERO to provide names and identities of all
persons (individuals and bodies) whose membership in such
representative organisations qualifies them to become FC
electors and subsector voters.
(b)
According to the information so obtained, the ERO sends a
notification to the individual who is on the 1999 GC register
of electors (and has remained eligible for a GC) but not
registered in any FC, setting out the name of one of the 28
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FCs and the corresponding subsector in which he/she is
eligible to be registered as an elector and voter. If the
person is only eligible to be registered in one of the four
subsectors without a corresponding FC, then the notification
will set out the name of the relevant subsector. If the
individual does not respond by 16 March 2000 to decline
registration, he/she will be registered in the FC and its
corresponding subsector or the subsector specified in the
notification.
(c)
If, however, the ERO has information that an individual
eligible to be registered in an FC is also eligible to be
registered in one of the following two subsectors, the
notification will state that he/she will be registered in that
subsector, not the corresponding subsector. These two
subsectors are the Chinese People’s Political Consultative
Conference subsector and the Hong Kong Chinese
Enterprises Association subsector.
The reason is that each
of the two subsectors has a very small electorate.
(d)
Where there is a choice, the notification will also state the
options available to the potential elector/voter.
(e)
Whatever is stated in the notification is subject to the
individual’s own wish: he/she can select to (i) decline
registration altogether, or (ii) be registered in an FC and a
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subsector for which he/she is eligible and is allowed to
choose.
3.12
The notification is to the effect that the individual notified
will, without further ado, be registered as the elector and/or voter of the
FC and/or subsector as specified in the notice, unless he/she replies to say
that he/she does not wish to be registered at all. For the 2000 LegCo
elections, this notification procedure had proved that it saved time and
efforts on the part of those who wished to be registered. However, the
procedure was not applicable to those whose names did not appear in the
1999 GC register or did not appear in the information sought from the
public authorities or umbrella organisations. They had to initiate the
process by making an application for registration themselves.
Section 3 : The Registration Campaign
3.13
While the registration of FC electors and subsector voters
was partially simplified by the notification procedure, there was a
territory-wide registration campaign mainly aiming at registration of GC
electors. It lasted for two months from mid-January till the registration
deadline of 16 March 2000.
3.14
The campaign was jointly conducted by a number of
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government bureaux and departments. The Working Group on
Publicity set up under the EAC played an active role in overseeing the
planning and implementation of the publicity and promotional activities
in support of the registration campaign. The campaign mainly aimed at
encouraging eligible members of the public to register as electors and
reminding registered electors to report any change of their addresses if
they had moved. While the appeal was directed to the entire potential
electorate, special emphasis was placed on young people in the age group
of 18 to 25 as their registration rate had all along been relatively low.
The kick-off ceremony for the campaign was organised in the form of a
birthday party for about 150 young people who just reached the age of 18
in January 2000. Young celebrities and artistes were invited to appeal
to the young at large at the event which was telecast. Other efforts
included placing advertisements in youth publications, university
bulletins, and the Internet, paying visits to university campuses and youth
centres, and distributing registration forms to senior secondary students,
participants of the Youth Pre-employment Training Programme and
young persons who called on the Immigration Department (“Imm D”) to
apply for their adult identity cards. A host of the other more
conventional means including television programmes, announcements in
public interest, newspaper advertisements and posters were also
employed to publicise the campaign. Registration counters were set up
at popular locations to assist people to fill in the application forms. The
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Chairman of the EAC also took every opportunity to show up on
television and radio programmes and meet the media in order to spread
the registration message.
3.15
The major feature of the campaign was a series of full-scale
door-to-door visits to all the two million households in the territory
conducted by the District Offices (“DOs”) of HAD. The household
visits aimed at arousing the community’s awareness of the second LegCo
elections, helping all the potential electors to register, reminding those
registered electors who had moved to update their residential address,
verifying the accuracy of the registered particulars of electors on the
existing electoral roll and updating them if necessary. In the light of the
experience gained from the last major household visit exercise conducted
in December 1997/January 1998, a number of improvement measures
had been introduced to increase the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of
the exercise. Visits this time were conducted mainly in weekday
evenings throughout the two-month campaign period instead of on one
week-end; temporary community organisers who were more mature and
experienced in dealing with people were employed instead of students,
and they were provided with intensive training and closely supervised.
The exercise was satisfactorily completed.
3.16
By the registration deadline of 16 March 2000, the REO
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received a total of about 466,000 registration applications. The number
of new electors registered is 248,800, of whom 88,200 (or 36%) are
young persons aged between 18 and 25.
Further details are set out in
paragraph 3.22 below.
3.17
For the promotion of registration for the FCs, a targeted
approach was adopted. Apart from issuing notifications as described in
paragraph 3.11, the REO sent appeal letters together with registration
forms and guidance notes to each individual and body known to be
eligible but who had yet to be registered. Appeal was also made to the
representative organisations to seek their assistance in encouraging their
members to get registered. Potential electors of the two new FCs and
those with relatively low registration rates were invited to briefings
specially organised for promoting their registration.
3.18
By the end of the registration period, the REO received a
total of about 14,600 application forms. Together with those registered
by means of the notification procedure, the total number of newly
registered FC electors was 42,620.
Section 4 : Publication of the Registers
3.19
The LegCo Ord provides for the annual publication of a
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Provisional Register (“PR”) and a Final Register (“FR”) of electors.
Detailed arrangements for the publication of these registers are provided
for in the EAC(ROE)(GC) Reg and the EAC(R)(FCSEC) Reg. For
2000, the PR and FR had to be published not later than 15 April and 25
May 2000 respectively. In fact, the PR was published on 14 April and
the FR on 25 May 2000. The FR of members of the EC was published
on 14 July 2000, five days after the EC subsector election held on 9 July
2000.
3.20
As provided for in the LegCo Ord, compilation of the 2000
PR was based on the FR published in March 1999 but excluding those
electors who were no longer entitled to be registered and including new
electors who were mainly recruited in the registration campaign. At the
time when the PR was published, an omissions list was also published.
The omissions list contained the names and particulars of those electors
on the 1999 FR who were no longer eligible to be registered and the
entries relating to those who would have to be omitted from the FR of
following year, eg those who were believed to be no longer residing at
the registered address (such as buildings already demolished but whose
new addresses were not known to the ERO) and also those who were
believed to be dead. Both the PR and the omissions list were available
for public inspection so that anyone who opposed to any entry therein
could lodge an objection and anyone who claimed to be entitled to be
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registered but whose name did not appear in the PR (or appeared on the
omissions list) might raise a claim.
Section 5 : Appeals
3.21
Since the publication of the PRs of electors and voters on
14 April 2000, there had been many people who showed interest in them
and approached the REO for inspection. The period for lodging
objections and claims also commenced thenceforth. By the deadline of
29 April 2000, a total of 40 appeals had been received. They were
forwarded to the Revising Officers, who very efficiently arranged
hearings and made their decisions on all the appeals by 11 May 2000.
A breakdown of the nature of the appeals can be found in the analysis of
the appeals prepared by the REO, at Appendix III. The ERO also took
the opportunity to seek and obtain the approval of the Revising Officers
to add 227 names to, and remove 4 names from, the FR, with the
breakdown shown at Appendix IV. Most of the additions came about
as a result of the Imm D’s confirmation that the electors concerned,
whose applications had been rejected earlier on the ground that they were
not permanent residents of the territory, were later found to have become
permanent residents after the publication of the PR and hence their names
should be included in the FR.
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Section 6 : Number of Electors
3.22
The two-month voter registration campaign netted 466,000
application forms for registration as GC electors. Some of these
applications were from persons whose particulars were already on the
register in force, and some other persons who reported changes of their
registered addresses or other particulars. At the end of the day, a total
of 248,800 new electors were recruited. Deducting the number of
former electors who were omitted from the FR because of death, having
moved to an unknown address, or having become ineligible, etc, the net
increase in the GC electorate was 222,850.
3.23
The number of electors or voters whose names have been
entered into the FRs for GCs, FCs, EC and EC subsectors are as follows:
FR for
GCs
Size of electorate
3,055,400 electors
Remarks
An age and sex profile of the
electors and a breakdown of the
registered electorate by GCs are
at Appendices V and VI.
FCs
175,600 electors
Breakdown at Appendix VII.
EC
794 members
Breakdown at Appendix VIII.
EC subsectors 179,000 voters
Breakdown at Appendix IX.