The Legislative Council election will be held next month.
The government stated earlier that it would set up border polling stations to allow Hong Kong people living in the Mainland to vote.
The government announced the detailed arrangements today (29th). Ticketing stations will be set up at Liantang, Luohu and Futian ports under closed-loop management.
Voters interested in voting must register in advance. The three ports have a total of 111,000 places. The online registration system will be activated at 9 a.m. on December 1.
The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Zeng Guowei, met with reporters in the afternoon to explain the detailed arrangements. He emphasized that the arrangements were not meant to increase the turnout rate.
Regarding vocal concerns or local law enforcement agencies’ failure to regulate election fraud in the Mainland, Zeng Guowei said that the scope of the Election (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance is not limited to Hong Kong. If the relevant conduct occurs outside Hong Kong, It will also be regulated by law.
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Zeng Guowei: The port ticket station arrangement is a one-time arrangement
[17:03]
Regarding how to promote to Hong Kong residents in the Mainland, Zeng Guowei pointed out that one of the purposes of today’s briefing session is to hope that the public and Hong Kong residents in the Mainland will be aware of this arrangement. The government will also publish relevant information on the government website. Through the offices in the Mainland, try to make these Hong Kong people aware of the arrangements and actively participate in voting.
When asked if the arrangement goes smoothly in the future, he will try to keep this arrangement. Zeng Guowei said that this is a one-off arrangement and is based on the actual situation of the epidemic. Future elections will depend on the situation.
Zeng Guowei: In order to push up the turnout rate
[17:00] A reporter from "China Central Broadcasting Station" asked what should be paid attention to for voters who return to Hong Kong to vote, whether the arrangement will be cancelled due to the seriousness of the epidemic, and whether the government has set targets for registered voters Number of people.
In response, Zeng Guowei said that this time the polling station was set up at the port because of the epidemic, and he hoped that Hong Kong people living in the mainland could vote. He said that the epidemic is an important consideration and he hopes that voters can take personal protection measures. He emphasized that the government will take a good Work on the epidemic, pay close attention to the epidemic situation, and maintain communication with the mainland.
He also said that the government did not set any targets for the number of voters, emphasizing that the purpose of this time is to satisfy Hong Kong people in the Mainland to vote. He reiterated that it is not to increase the turnout rate, but only to facilitate Hong Kong people in the Mainland who have difficulties in coming to Hong Kong. vote.
The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Zeng Guowei, announced the details of the voting arrangements for voters returning from the Mainland to Hong Kong.
(Photo by Lu Yiming)
Whether voters "usually reside in Hong Kong" has to consider a number of factors
[16:50] Zeng Guowei was asked whether mainland Hong Kong voters would not meet the statutory requirements of "usually residing in Hong Kong". He said that this concept should not be applied across the board, emphasizing whether voters "usually residing in Hong Kong" should be based on court cases, The decision is made after considering all relevant factors, including the reason for leaving Hong Kong, the length of time they have been away from Hong Kong, and whether they still have close ties with Hong Kong.
Zeng Guowei also used himself as an example, saying that he had worked in the Mainland Beijing Office for a few years, and he was also living in Beijing most of the time, but he was also regarded as "usually living in Hong Kong", emphasizing that the Registration and Electoral Office handled related matters. There are regular practices in the above, including the qualification review in the voter registration cycle every year, emphasizing that this arrangement is purely to assist mainland voters to return to Hong Kong to vote.
He also emphasized that this arrangement did not take into account the issue of turnout at all, and that the relevant turnout rate was introduced purely in accordance with the requirements of the society and the wishes of the voters.
He said that the Election (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance is not limited to Hong Kong. If the relevant conduct occurs outside of Hong Kong, it will also be regulated by law.
The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Zeng Guowei, announced the details of the voting arrangements for voters returning from the Mainland to Hong Kong.
(Photo by Lu Yiming)
[16:46] Zeng Guowei pointed out that the government has comprehensively considered different factors, including the spread of the epidemic, the progress of customs clearance with the mainland, the degree of convenience, and implementation issues.
Zeng Guowei pointed out that the authorities decided to set up ticketing stations at three ports because these ports themselves have been suspended due to the epidemic. Other ports in operation may increase the risk due to practical difficulties in diverting them and general returning passengers. The traffic at the port is also more convenient.
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12.1 to 12.8 open registration must first select the ticket station
The government stated that the Mainland immigration control authorities have agreed to temporarily open the Liantang, Lo Wu and Futian ports corresponding to the entry and exit control points of Heung Yuen Wai, Lo Wu, and Lok Ma Chau on the polling day.
The Mainland's health and anti-epidemic administration agrees that, provided that the specified health and anti-epidemic requirements are met, voters who have successfully registered and return to the Mainland after voting at the designated control point polling station can be exempted from the Mainland's centralized quarantine or medical surveillance arrangements.
The polling station will adopt a fully closed-loop management. After the voting time is over, the polling station will be transformed into a counting station.
Except for voters, candidates or their agents who have been assigned to the polling station of the control point, and those involved in election work, no person will be allowed to enter or leave the polling station of the control point, and there will be no arrangement for public observation and counting of votes.
The government pointed out that since candidates or their agents can apply to enter the polling station to observe the counting process, the government believes that the fairness and openness of the election has been fully protected.
All voters participating in the arrangement must register in advance, and the arrangement is applicable to all voters who have registered as geographical constituencies and functional constituencies for the 2021 Legislative Council general election.
This arrangement only applies to voters from district direct elections and functional constituencies registering to vote at the polling station at the control point, while voters from the Election Committee constituency do not apply.
Port voting arrangements will adopt a pre-registration system with quota restrictions. The maximum registration quota of the three control points polling stations is 111,000 (Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai: 33,000, Lo Wu: 42,000, and Lok Ma Chau/Futian: 36,000), and the quota will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
The Registration and Electoral Office will set up an online registration system for the arrangement, and it will start operating at 9 am on December 1, 2021. Voters who wish to participate in the arrangement can register in advance through the relevant online registration system. The registration time will be at 12 It ends at 6 pm on the 8th.
Registered voters must choose the control point polling station they want to go to to vote. Once confirmed, the voters concerned must vote at the selected control point polling station on the polling day.
Voters will not be allowed to vote if they go to polling stations at other control points that are not confirmed.
When making an appointment in the online registration system, voters must also choose a designated time slot (calculated by hour) on the day of the election to vote, so that the relevant departments can make corresponding arrangements and manage the flow of people.
News: Luohu and other 3 ports set up balloting stations. Public servants' union: there are different conventional ticketing stations. The distribution of votes is complicated. Ports set up balloting stations. Electoral office: if Hong Kong residents living in the Mainland have no domicile, the address does not meet the qualifications for voter registration. Returning to the Mainland, Lam Cheng denies urging the voter turnout rate
