CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
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successful, three-month voter registration drive from April and recruited some 520 000 new electors - over 100 000 of whom were 18 to 21 years of age and eligible, for the first time in the history of Hong Kong, for registration as electors.
In June, the commission saw the passage of subsidiary legislation to regulate the electoral procedures for the geographical constituency elections. In mid-July, after extensive public consultation, it published a comprehensive set of guidelines on election-related activities.
The commission successfully organised and supervised its first territory-wide district board elections in September. In December, in accordance with the statutory requirement under the law, the commission submitted to the Governor its report on the district board elections which, in its view, had been conducted fairly, openly and honestly. The report also contained findings of its review of the electoral arrangements and recommended improvements.
During the last quarter of 1994, the commission embarked on the preparation of the relevant legislation and planning of the voter registration for the functional constituencies of the Legislative Council, including the nine new functional constituencies.
The Registration and Electoral Office
The Registration and Electoral Office, headed by the Chief Electoral Officer, is the executive arm of the Boundary and Election Commission. It works under the direction of the commission and carries out its decisions. The work of the Registration and Electoral Office includes the review and demarcation of geographical constituencies for the district boards, the municipal councils and the Legislative Council; the registration of electors; and the conduct and supervision of elections.
To reflect the independent status of the Boundary and Election Commission, the Registration and Electoral Office was excised from the Government Secretariat from April 1, to become a separate government department.
Advisory Boards and Committees
The government's network of advisory boards and committees is a distinctive feature of the system of government, which seeks to obtain, through consultation with interested groups and individuals 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 branches and departments.
In general, advisory bodies can be divided into two major categories statutory bodies (such as the Antiquities Advisory Board and the Pilotage Advisory Committee) and non- statutory bodies (such as the Construction Advisory Board and the Economic Advisory Committee). Both types of bodies give advice to the government through a branch secretary or a head of department. Their areas of activities are wide-ranging. Some of them deal with the interests of a particular industry, such as the Fish Marketing Advisory Board. Others advise on a particular area of government policy or public interest, such as the Transport Advisory Committee and the Social Welfare Advisory Committee. Some of these bodies also carry out executive functions, such as the Hong Kong Examinations Authority and the Hospital Authority. There are also local committees concerned with the affairs of particular areas and neighbourhoods throughout the territory. They include the area committees and District Fight Crime Committees.