The following is issued on behalf of the Electoral Affairs Commission:
 
     The Chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission, Mr Justice Barnabas Fung Wah, called on registered voters to cast their votes in the 2016 Election Committee Subsector Ordinary Elections today (December 11).
 
     Mr Justice Fung reminded voters to take their Hong Kong Identity Card to the polling station specified on the poll card to vote after visiting the polling station at Quarry Bay Community Hall this morning.
 
     "Apart from the Hong Kong Identity Card, voters can also produce their Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Passport for ascertaining their identity. If voters are only able to produce a government document that carries their full name and photo, such as the Senior Citizen Card issued by the Social Welfare Department, they must also produce a photocopy of their Hong Kong Identity Card," he said.
 
     "Voters should use the black pen provided at the polling station to shade the oval opposite the name of each chosen candidate on the ballot paper when voting. The marked ballot paper should then be put into the envelope provided at the polling station before putting into the ballot box as directed by the arrow on the envelope."
 
     "Voters should vote for no more than the prescribed number of seats in the relevant subsector/sub-subsector. Otherwise the ballot paper will become invalid and will not be counted. The maximum number of candidates that can be voted for in the subsector/sub-subsector concerned will be indicated clearly at the top of the ballot paper," he added.
 
     Introduction booklets on candidates printed by the Registration and Electoral Office are available at all polling stations for reference by voters.
 
     "Voters can log in to the Online Voter Information Enquiry System (www.voterinfo.gov.hk) if they have not received their poll card to check whether they are registered voters and their designated polling station. They can also call the election hotline 2891 1001 for enquiries," Mr Justice Fung said.
 
     A total of 110 ordinary polling stations and 9 dedicated polling stations are open today for more than 230 000 registered voters to cast their votes. A total of 1 239 candidates are contesting 733 seats in 25 subsectors/sub-subsectors.
 
     As at 10.30am, 11 644 voters have voted, bringing the accumulative turnout rate to 5.02%.
 
     The polling hours for the ordinary polling stations and the two dedicated polling stations set up at police stations are from 7.30am to 10.30pm. For security reasons, the 7 dedicated polling stations set up at penal institutions will open from 9am to 4pm.
 
     Upon the close of the poll, ballot boxes of the ordinary polling stations and the dedicated polling stations will be delivered to the central counting station at the AsiaWorld-Expo where counting of votes will take place. All election results will be announced at the media centre of the central counting station. A public gallery will be set up for members of the public to watch the announcement of results at the media centre. In view of the limited seating capacity, admission to the public gallery will be arranged on a first come, first served basis from 11pm today. To facilitate admission control, members of the public admitted to the venue will be required to wear a wristband provided by the REO for identification purpose.
 
     Mr Justice Fung and Commission Members Mr Arthur Luk, SC, and Professor Fanny Cheung inspected the polling stations today to see for themselves how electoral activities were being conducted.
 
     The election hotline at 2891 1001 will be in service until 11pm to answer enquiries relating to the election.
 
     A complaints hotline at 2827 7251 will also operate until 11pm to handle complaints about breaches of electoral rules and guidelines.
 
     Hourly voter turnouts and election results will be available on the election website (www.elections.gov.hk).

Ends/Sunday, December 11, 2016
Issued at HKT 12:36

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