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4.
As regards option (b) Paper II of May 1986 concluded that
such a method would be easily understood and would confirm that the
Chief Executive enjoyed the confidence of the Legislature. Such a
system would, however, place considerable power in the hands of the
Legislature and might unduly alter the balance between it and the
Executive.
5.
As regards option (c) Paper II of May 1986 pointed out that
it would require the creation of a new body, for which there is no
equivalent in Hong Kong's present system of government. If,
however, there were general support for the creation of a broadly based "Grand Electoral College", option (c) might be the most
preferable because it would ensure that the Chief Executive was
selected after careful consideration of the merits of different
candidates and that he enjoyed the confidence and support of a broad sector of the community.
METHOD OF ELECTION
6.
If one of the above systems of election is chosen, it would
be necessary to give consideration to the method of election and
voting system to be used (options range from a simple or two-thirds
majority system to a transferable vote system) and to the machinery
for submitting the elected candidate for appointment by the Central
People's Government.
7.
If a "Grand Electoral College" (GEC) were to constitute the
electoral body, it might be prudent to adopt a procedure for
nominations and for the selection of a short list of candidates.
One option might be for the GEC to elect, from among its members,
a "nominating committee" with responsibility for drawing up a short list of candidates. Alternatively the system might simply require
candidates to be nominated by a certain number of ordinary electors
and then endorsed by a specified number of members of the GEC. The
latter system would be more open and therefore more likely to foster
public confidence in the electoral proceedings.
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