CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
is used. Under this system, an elector is entitled to cast one vote. The vote is transferable among the candidates marked on a ballot paper if the elector marks his preferences for more than one candidate. A candidate who obtains an absolute majority of the votes will be elected. If no candidate obtains an absolute majority, the candidate with the least number of votes will be eliminated and that candidate's votes will be transferred to other candidates in accordance with the preferences marked on the ballot paper. The process will continue until one candidate obtains an absolute majority over other candidates then remaining.
(c) Election Committee
The qualifications for candidature in the Legislative Council Election Committee. election are the same as those for geographical constituency elections. The Election Committee is composed of members who are HKSAR permanent residents from four sectors: (1) industrial, commercial and financial; (2) the professions; (3) labour, social services and religious; and (4) members of the Legislative Council, Hong Kong deputies to the National People's Congress, representatives of Hong Kong members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and representatives of district-based organisations. Each of these four sectors returns. 200 members. Each sector is further divided into subsectors each returning a specified number of representatives to the Election Committee by election. Members of the Legislative Council and Hong Kong deputies to the National People's Congress are ex officio members of the Election Committee, and the religious subsector returns its representatives to the Election Committee by nomination from designated religious bodies.
The method for returning six members to the second term of the Legislative Council by the Election Committee was by the block vote system-each member of the Election Committee was required to cast six votes and the result was determined by simple majority.
Electoral System for the District Councils
To advise the HKSAR Government on district affairs and to promote recreational and cultural activities, and environmental improvements within the districts, 18 District Councils are established in the HKSAR. A District Council is composed of elected members, appointed members, and, in the case of District Councils in rural areas, the chairman of Rural Committees as ex officio members. The HKSAR is divided into 390 constituencies, in each of which a member is elected. The simple majority method is adopted in these elections.
Electoral Affairs Commission
An independent statutory body, the Electoral Affairs Commission, is responsible for ensuring that elections in the HKSAR are conducted openly, honestly and fairly. It comprises three politically neutral persons appointed by the Chief Executive and is headed by a High Court judge. It is responsible for making recommendations to the Chief Executive on the delineation of geographical constituencies and District Council constituencies, making regulations on practical arrangements for elections, and handling complaints relating to elections. Its executive arm is the Registration and Electoral Office, a government department headed by the Chief Electoral Officer. The department works under the commission's direction and carries out its decisions.
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