CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
28
constituency in which he stands. Each nomination requires 10 subscribers who are electors in that functional constituency, except for the municipal council functional constituencies which require only five subscribers, due to the small electorate in the constituencies.
Boundary and Election Commission
The three-member Boundary and Election Commission, appointed by the Governor on July 23, is an independent authority established under the Boundary and Election Commission Ordinance. It is responsible for reviewing the geographical constituency boundaries of the Legislative Council, municipal councils and district boards, and making recommendations to the Governor. It is also responsible for overseeing the conduct and supervision of elections, keeping under review the procedure for these elections and the arrangements for registration of electors to ensure that the elections are conducted openly, honestly and fairly. The commission performs its functions through the Registration and Electoral Office, which is staffed by civil servants and headed by a Chief Electoral Officer.
In October, the commission published its provisional recommendations on the 1994 district board constituency boundaries and commenced a 30-day public consultation on these recommendations. The provisional recommendations were drawn up in accordance with the statutory criteria laid down in the Boundary and Election Commission Ordin- ance which include the population quota, community identities, physical features and development of the relevant areas. On December 30, the commission submitted its recommendations, which took into account the representations received during the public consultation, to the Governor for consideration.
Advisory Committees
The government's network of boards and committees is a distinctive feature of the system of government, which seeks to obtain, through consultation with interested groups in the community, the best possible advice on which to base decisions. Advisory bodies of one kind or another are found in nearly all government departments and quasi-government bodies.
In general, advisory bodies are divided into five categories: statutory bodies which give advice to a head of department (such as the Endangered Species Advisory Board); statutory bodies which give advice to the government (such as the Board of Education); non-statutory bodies which give advice to a head of department (such as the Labour Advisory Board); non-statutory bodies which give advice to the government (such as the Transport Advisory Committee); and committees which are executive in nature (such as the Hong Kong Examinations Authority).
Government officials and members of the public are represented on these committees. About 5720 members of the public have been appointed to serve on a total of 563 boards and committees, and some serve on more than one of these advisory bodies. These members are appointed in view of their specialist knowledge or expertise, or their record or interest in contributing to community service. Increasing importance has been attached to the contribution they make to the formulation and execution of government policies and, in order to utilise their potential to the full, the composition and effectiveness of these bodies are regularly monitored. Where appropriate, the government broadens the cross-section of representation and encourages an inflow of new ideas through a reasonable turnover of membership.
Page 45Page 46