Constitution and Administration 9
the Rent Officer Scheme. The Public Enquiry Service Centres and the Central Telephone Enquiry Centre served 2.32 million clients in 2004.
The Electoral System
Electoral System for the Legislative Council
Under the Basic Law, the Legislative Council of the HKSAR shall be constituted by elections, and the method for its formation is to be specified in the light of the actual situation in the HKSAR and in accordance with the principle of gradual and orderly progress. The Basic Law also provides that the ultimate aim is the election of all members of the Legislative Council by universal suffrage.
The composition of the first three terms of the Legislative Council as set out in the Basic Law is as follows:
Membership
First term (1998-2000)
Third term (2004-2008)
Second term (2000-2004)
(a) elected by geographical
constituencies through
20
24
30
direct elections
(b) elected by functional
30
30
30
constituencies
(c) elected by an election
committee
10
6
60
60
60
The election of the third term Legislative Council was held on September 12, 2004. A total of 159 validly nominated candidates contested the 60 Legislative Council seats. Over 1.78 million registered electors cast their votes on the polling day, representing a turnout rate of 55.63 per cent. The election was conducted fairly, openly and honestly under the supervision of the Electoral Affairs Commission.
The Basic Law provides that if there is a need to amend the method for the formation of the Legislative Council after 2007, such amendments must be made with the endorsement of a two-thirds majority of all the members of the Legislative Council and the consent of the Chief Executive, and shall be reported to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for the record.
(a) Geographical Constituency
Geographical constituency elections are held on the basis of universal suffrage. All eligible persons aged 18 or above have the right to be registered as electors and to vote in the elections. There are currently about three million registered electors.
For the third term Legislative Council, the HKSAR is divided into five geographical constituencies, each having four to eight seats. The List Voting System