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Electors of the Tai Po District Council San Fu Constituency are urged to vote in the by-election in their constituency tomorrow (July 19).
Two polling stations will be open to electors from 7.30am to 10.30pm. They are located at Law Ting Pong Secondary School, 8 Ma Chung Road, Tai Po, New Territories, and Norwegian International School, 170 Kam Shan Road, Tai Po, New Territories.
"Voting is very simple. It just takes a few minutes to vote," a spokesman for the Registration and Electoral Office said today (July 18).
"All electors need to do is to show their identity document at the polling station where they will be issued a ballot paper, use the chop provided to stamp a tick on the ballot paper in the circle opposite the name of the chosen candidate, and fold the ballot paper inward in half before putting it into the ballot box," he said.
If any San Fu Constituency electors who are remanded or detained by law enforcement agencies other than the Correctional Services Department (CSD) on the polling day wish to vote in the by-election, they will be arranged to cast their ballots at the dedicated polling station located at Sheung Shui Divisional Police Station, 8 Sha Tau Kok Road, Lung Yeuk Tau, Fanling, New Territories. The polling hours will be from 7.30am to 10.30pm.
Three dedicated polling stations will also be set up in penal institutions for electors in the constituency who are imprisoned or remanded in the CSD's custody to cast their votes in their respective penal institutions. For security reasons, the polling hours will be from 9am to 4pm.
The voting procedure and the venue set-up at the dedicated polling stations are basically the same as those of the ordinary polling stations.
The spokesman reminded people that according to the law, the polling stations are restricted areas accessible only by electors and authorised people.
"Unauthorised people are strictly prohibited from using mobile phones, taking photographs, filming, and making video or audio recordings in the polling stations," he said.
Enquiries about the by-election can be made to the election hotline at 2891 1001, which will operate from 7am to 11pm tomorrow.
A complaints hotline, 2827 7251, will also be in service from 7.30am to 11pm tomorrow to handle complaints about breaches of electoral rules and guidelines.
Once the poll is closed, the polling stations at Law Ting Pong Secondary School and Norwegian International School will be converted into counting stations. People are welcome to watch the vote counting within the designated area at the counting stations.
To protect the secrecy of votes, the ballot boxes of the dedicated polling stations will be delivered to the main counting station at Law Ting Pong Secondary School for opening after the close of polling. The ballot papers concerned will be mixed with the ballot papers cast at the main counting station before counting of votes begins.
"The Returning Officer will declare the election results at the counting station at Law Ting Pong Secondary School," the spokesman said.
The three candidates contesting the by-election are Ho Man-kit (No. 1), Lo Hiu-fung (No. 2) and Kwok Wing-kin (No. 3).
The elected candidate will fill the vacant office for an elected member of the Tai Po District Council.
Ends/Saturday, July 18, 2015
Issued at HKT 17:51
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