C1:	To advise the relationship between the Election Committee prescribed in Annex I and the one referred to in Annex II of the Basic Law and whether the provisions relating to the composition of the Election Committee in the Bill, if passed, would contravene the Basic Law or would pre-empt a decision on the composition of the Election Committee prescribed in Annex I.
A1:	Annex II of the Basic Law sets out the method for formation of the Legislative Council. For the second term Legislative Council, 6 Legislative Council Members are to be returned by an Election Committee. The Legislative Council (Amendment) Bill 1999 therefore provides that an Election Committee be established for the purposes of returning 6 Members in the 2000 Legislative Council election. The Election Committee as proposed in the Bill is formed in accordance with the provisions of the Basic Law. Annex I of the Basic Law prescribes the method of selection of the Chief Executive. We will introduce a separate bill on the Chief Executive election later. As the present Legislative Council (Amendment) Bill 1999 provides for the formation of the second term Legislative Council only, we do not consider that the Bill would pre-empt the deliberation of the eventual bill for the Chief Executive election.
C2:	To provide the number of registered voters, the number of validly nominated candidates and the turnout rate in the Election Committee subsector elections held on 2 April 1998.
A2:	The information requested is set out in Annex I.
C3:	To explain the procedures for dealing with the excess seats that may arise from ex-officio members of the Election Committee declining registration as such.
A3:	Table 4 of Schedule 2 to the Legislative Council Ordinance specifies the composition of the Fourth Sector of the Election Committee. In the 1998 Legislative Council election, Hong Kong deputies to the National People's Congress and Members of the Provisional Legislative Council holding office on 1 April 1998 were eligible to become ex-officio Members of the Election Committee. Section 1(9) of Schedule 2 allows these persons to decline to be registered as members of the Election Committee by written notice to the Electoral Registration Officer. This provision provides these persons with a choice to cast their votes in a functional constituency if they are so eligible. To protect the electorate size of the Election Committee, section 1(10) and (11) of Schedule 2 provides that any unused quota of the Election Committee seats for these persons will be transferred to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) subsector, the constituents of which are Hong Kong members of the National Committee of the CPPCC. In the event that there still exists an unused quota, the seats concerned will be transferred to the Provisional District Boards (to be amended as District Councils) subsectors. At present, the number of seats allocated to the CPPCC subsector is 41 whereas the number for all representatives of district-based organizations is 63. We therefore consider it appropriate to allocate the excess seats to the CPPCC subsector first.
C4:	To respond to Members' concern that no person would qualify as Legislative Council Members specified under the Fourth Sector of the Election Committee if the Election Committee subsector elections for the second term Legislative Council are held after 30 June 2000.
A4:	Section 1(7)(c)(ii) of Schedule 2 states that Members of the Provisional Legislative Council holding office on the "relevant date" are eligible to become ex-officio members of the Election Committee. Clause 43(b) of the Bill seeks to amend the provision by replacing "Provisional Legislative Council" with "Legislative Council". Clause 43(d) changes the "relevant date" from "1 April 1998" to "30 June 2000". Hence Members of the Legislative Council holding office on 30 June 2000 are eligible to become ex-officio members of the Election Committee.
C5:	To compare (in the form of charts) the proposed arrangements under the new clause 42A (Who are validly nominated candidates) and new clause 46A (When election proceedings are terminated or when election fails) with the existing arrangements under the Legislative Council Ordinance.
A5:	The comparison is at Annex II. At the last Bills Committee meeting, Members expressed their views on whether a Returning Officers of the geographical constituencies elections should be allowed to add the names of surplus nominees to the relevant list of candidates (when the Returning Officer comes to know that a candidate on a list has been disqualified from being nominated or has died, and has therefore deleted the candidate's name from the relevant list). After carefully considered the views of the Members, we are of the view that this requirement can be deleted to the effect that the Returning Officer cannot add the names of any persons (including the surplus nominees) to a list after a candidate's name has been deleted from the list (when the Returning Officer comes to know that such candidate has been disqualified from being nominated or has died).
C6:	On clause 18, to consider deferring the proposed date of 25 May for publication of a Final Register such that more time is allowed for voter registration.
A6:	As we said before at previous Bills Committee meetings, 6 Members are to be returned by the Election Committee at the second term Legislative Council election. Hence, we must conduct the Election Committee subsector elections before holding the Legislative Council election in September to return the Election Committee. Members can see from the timetable at Annex III that we can only hold the Legislative Council election in September as scheduled if only the Final Register is published by end May. Nomination and canvassing activities can then start in June for election of members to the Election Committee. As a result, the Bill proposes that the deadline for the publication of the Final Register be set at 25 May. Starting from the third term Legislative Council, there is no need to conduct the Election Committee subsector elections before the Legislative Council election. We would then consider putting back the deadlines for the publication of the registers.
C7:	To advise the deadlines for publication of the Final Registers and the dates for holding the general elections of the Legislative Council in 1991 and 1995.
A7:	See Annex III.
C8:	To provide the number of objections and claims received in the 1998 voter registration exercise.
A8:	In the 1998 voter registration exercise, the Electoral Registration Officer received 1 objection and 187 claims. The objection concerned the appointment of authorized representative by a functional constituency elector/subsector voter. Of the 187 claims, 27 concerned registration as geographical constituency electors, 110 appointment of authorized representatives and 160 registration as functional constituency electors/subsector voters. For further information, Members may refer to the extract of the Electoral Affairs Commission Report on the 1998 Legislative Council Elections at Annex IV.

Constitutional Affairs Bureau
May 1999

[LS269]

Annex I

Subsector	No. of seats	No. of validly nominated candidates	No. of registered voters	Voter turnout rate (%)
Catering	11	20	1,756	11.62%
Commercial (First)	12	18	1,293	45.34%
Commercial (Second)	12	12	1,744	-*
Employers' Federation of Hong Kong	11	14	126	67.27%
Finance	12	15	199	81.56%
Financial Services	12	25	531	68.32%
Hong Kong Chinese Enterprises Association	11	11	221	-*
Hotel	11	29	81	85.00%
Import and Export	12	14	1,161	34.55%
Industrial (First)	12	15	720	43.64%
Industrial (Second)	12	12	548	-*
Insurance	12	19	192	87.83%
Real Estate and Construction	12	15	392	71.68%
Textiles and Garment	12	13	2,737	31.04%
Tourism	12	21	746	63.86%
Transport	12	31	130	86.92%
Wholesale and Retail	12	27	2,204	34.56%
Accountancy	20	39	9,897	16.28%
Architectural, Surveying and Planning	20	36	3,216	30.25%
Chinese Medicine	20	32	2,266	43.49%
Education	20	36	56,702	20.29%
Engineering	20	48	5,350	40.17%
Health Services	20	26	27,480	9.32%
Higher Education	20	27	4,488	24.29%
Information Technology	20	53	3,144	47.01%
Legal	20	33	3,558	38.08%
Medical	20	49	6,784	27.49%
Agriculture & Fisheries	40	69	165	92.12%
Labour	40	49	409	75.07%
Social Welfare	40	49	3,390	37.46%
Sports, Performing arts, Culture and Publication	40	59	1,134	62.08%
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference*	60	60	113	-*
Heung Yee Kuk	21	22	105	83.81%
Hong Kong & Kowloon Provisional District Boards	21	37	229	79.48%
New Territories Provisional District Boards	21	23	224	68.75%

* Uncontested subsector

Annex III

	Proposed Arrangements in the Bill	Past Arrangements in respect of the Legislative Council elections
	(2000)	(1995)	(1991)
Deadline for the publication of the Provisional Register	15 April	21 June	21 June
Deadline for the publication of the Final Register	25 May	7 August	7 August
Nomination and canvassing for the Election Committee subsector elections	early June to mid July	NA	NA
Election Committee subsector elections and publication of register of the Election Committee	mid July to late July	NA	NA
Nomination and canvassing for the Legislative Council election	early August to mid September	1 August to 17 September	29 July to 15 September
Advance polling for the Legislative Council election	early September	NA	NA
Legislative Council election	mid September	17 September	15 September

Note 1：

As can be seen from the above timetable, for the 2000 Legislative Council election, we need to conduct the Election Committee subsector elections before holding the Legislative Council election in September. The deadlines for publication of the Provisional and Final Registers therefore need to be set at earlier dates as compared with those in 1991 and 1995.

Note 2： In the 1991 Legislative Council election, the polling date for the functional constituencies election was 12 September.


Constitutional Affairs Bureau
May 1999

LS267