CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
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are building-based resident organisations established to improve the security, cleanliness and general management of multi-storey buildings. At present, there are over 120 area committees and 4 200 mutual aid committees. They provide an extensive and effective network of communication between the government and the people at the local grass- root level.
Links Between the Representative Institutions
The Urban Council and the Regional Council are closely linked to the district boards. Each district board in the urban area has a representative member on the Urban Council. In addition to a similar arrangement between the Regional Council and the district boards in the New Territories, members of the latter are also included in the district committees under the Regional Council. Through these channels, the district boards are consulted on a wide range of council matters affecting their areas.
New Territories district boards maintain a close relationship with the Heung Yee Kuk (a statutory advisory body which represents the indigenous population of the New Territories). Seats are reserved on the district boards for rural committee chairmen who are also ex-officio members of the Heung Yee Kuk's executive committee.
The Regional Council also has a formal link with the Heung Yee Kuk, through the ex-officio membership of the chairman and the two vice-chairmen on the council.
The Urban Council and the Regional Council, which cover much the same fields in their - respective areas, have, during the year, held liaison meetings and have also instituted joint ventures such as the Keep Hong Kong Clean Campaign. The annual Flower Show is also a responsibility of both councils and is held in each council's area in alternate years.
Starting from the 1991-2 Legislative Council session, the two municipal councils as well as the Heung Yee Kuk become functional constituencies, each returning one member to the Legislative Council.
Electoral System for the Urban Council, Regional Council and District Boards Elections to the Urban Council, Regional Council and district boards are on a geographical constituency basis and through a broad franchise. Practically everyone who is 21 years of age or over and who is a Hong Kong permanent resident, or has been resident in Hong Kong for the preceding seven years, is eligible to apply for registration as an elector in the constituency in which he lives. An applicant should be ordinarily resident in Hong Kong at the time of application. As from 1991, registration is conducted between April and June although applications for registration can be made at any time of the year.
The 1991 electoral roll carried 1916 925 names, representing 51.9 per cent of an estimated potential electorate of 3.69 million. Of these electors, 1 150 460 are entitled to vote at the Urban Council elections and also at the district board elections in the Urban Council area. The remaining 766 465 are entitled to vote at Regional Council elections and at the district board elections in the Regional Council area.
There are 210 constituencies for district board elections, comprising 108 in the 10 districts in the Urban Council area and 102 in the nine districts in the Regional Council area. The total number of elected district board members comes to 274.
For Urban Council elections, the number of constituencies remains at 15, each being a single-seat constituency made up of a number of district board constituencies in the Urban Council area. The Regional Council has 12 single-seat constituencies, each made up of a