********************************************************
The following is issued on behalf of the Electoral Affairs Commission:
The Chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission, Mr Justice Barnabas Fung Wah, urged electors to confirm their registration status through the election hotline 2891 1001 or the Online Voter Information Enquiry System (OVIES) (www.voterinfo.gov.hk) before casting their votes at the District Council Ordinary Election on Sunday (November 22) to ensure voting is smooth on polling day.
"The Registration and Electoral Office (REO) has implemented checking measures in the past few years in response to concerns by the public on the accuracy of the registers of electors. Some members of the public who were electors may have lost their registration status following the inquiry process. According to law, only registered electors on the 2015 final registers of electors are eligible to vote on polling day," Mr Justice Fung said after visiting a mock polling station at Leighton Hill Community Hall this afternoon (November 17).
In addition to information on voter registration, electors can check the name and address of the designated polling station, its location on the map and other polling information such as the polling date and polling hours on OVIES.
"Electors who have yet to receive the poll card and are unable to ascertain their registration particulars via OVIES should call the election hotline immediately to confirm whether they are a registered elector," he said.
He reminded electors to take their Hong Kong Identity Card when attending the designated polling station specified on their poll card.
"As there are 19 more District Council Constituency Areas in the District Council Election this year compared with the District Council Election in 2011, polling stations in some constituencies have changed. In addition, some of the venues which were used as polling stations in the last election are not available for various reasons. In such circumstances the REO has to identify new venues for use as polling stations," he said.
Mr Justice Fung also reminded electors to follow proper voting procedures.
"When voting, electors should use the chop provided to stamp a 'tick' on the ballot paper in the circle next to the chosen candidate's name, and fold the ballot paper inward in half once before putting it into the ballot box," he said.
The mock polling station at Leighton Hill Community Hall is among four mock polling stations open for electors to familiarise themselves with voting procedures for the District Council Ordinary Election. The other three are at the Henry G Leong Yau Ma Tei Community Centre, Tuen Mun Town Hall and Tai Po Community Centre.
The mock polling stations will be open from noon to 8pm from tomorrow until Saturday (November 18-21).
A hotline (2967 0830) and a fax (2834 0934) have been set up to arrange appointments for group visits. None of the four mock polling stations will be able to accept pre-arranged group visits on November 21 (Saturday) due to the need to prepare for the poll the next day.
Mr Justice Fung reiterated the importance of safeguarding the secrecy of votes.
"Electors should mark their ballot papers by themselves inside a voting compartment. An elector in need may ask the Presiding Officer or his deputy to mark the ballot paper on his behalf, in the presence of a polling staff as witness," he said.
Electors must not use mobile phones or other electronic communication devices, take photographs, or make video or audio recording in a polling station.
The distribution of election advertisements and display of propaganda material, such as any badge, emblem, clothing or head-dress inside polling stations is also prohibited, he added.
A total of 867 candidates will run for 363 seats on polling day. A total of 495 ordinary polling stations and 24 dedicated polling stations will be open for about 3.12 million registered electors in the contested constituencies to cast their votes.
The polling hours for the ordinary polling stations and the three dedicated polling stations set up at police stations will be from 7.30am to 10.30pm. For security reasons, the polling hours for the 21 dedicated polling stations in penal institutions will be from 9am to 4pm.
Ends/Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Issued at HKT 16:37
NNNN