XN000022-1985-05-07 — Page 6

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TUESDAY, MAY 1985

FOLLOWING IS THE TEXT OF A STATEMENT BY THE SECRETARY FOR ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES AND INFORMATION, MR PETER K. Y. TSAO, AT A PRESS CONFERENCE HELD TODAY (TUESDAY):

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ELECTION REGISTRATION OF VOTERS

THE FIRST PHASE OF THE REGISTRATION OF ELECTORS FOR THE MAY 6. DURING LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ELECTION ENDED YESTERDAY, MAY 6. THE 3-WEEK PERIOD, A TOTAL OF 3 507 ORGANISATIONS AND 30 345 INDIVIDUALS REGISTERED THEMSELVES AS ELECTORS. MANY OF THE ORGANISATIONS ARE LARGE AND IMPORTANT ONES, EMPLOYING HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE IN VARIOUS PROFESSIONAL FIELDS.

SOME PRESS REPORTS HAVE MADE COMPARISONS BETWEEN THE REGISTRATION FOR LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ELECTION AND THAT FOR THE DISTRICT BOARD ELECTION, POINTING IN PARTICULAR TO THE LACK OF FANFARE AND PUBLICITY. SOME HAVE DRAWN THE CONCLUSION THAT THE RATE OF REGISTRATION COULD HAVE BEEN HIGHER HAD THERE BEEN MORE PUBLICITY.

THE LEGCO ELECTION IS RATHER DIFFERENT FROM DB ELECTION IN SEVERAL RESPECTS:-

(A)

(E)

(C)

IT ONLY INVOLVES SOME 73 000 PEOPLE OR ORGANISATIONS, WHEREAS THE FRANCHISE FOR DB ELECTION I.E. THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE ELIGIBLE TO VOTE INVOLVES 2.9 MILLION PEOPLE;

IT IS OBVIOUSLY MORE COMPLICATED FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS, NOT LEAST BEING THE FACT THAT IT IS BEING HELD FOR THE FIRST TIME;

BETWEEN THE PROMULGATION OF THE LEGCO ELECTOR REGISTRATION REGULATIONS ON APRIL 12 AND THE STARTING OF THE PROCESS OF REGISTRATION OF ELECTORS ON APRIL 15, ALL WE HAD WAS A WEEKEND AND THERE WAS SIMPLY NO TIME FOR PRE-REGISTRATION PUBLICITY OTHER THAN A PRESS CONFERENCE GIVEN BY MR LEE;

D) SINCE ALL FUNCTIONAL CONSTITUENCIES WERE CLOSELY

CONSULTED ON THE FORMULATION OF THE RULES AND REGULATIONS, THEY WERE FULLY AWARE OF WHAT WAS BEING PROPOSED. WE THEREFORE RELIED ON THEM TO LIAISE WITH THEIR OWN MEMBERS,

THESE WERE THE REASONS WHY PUBLICITY ON THE SCALE MOUNTED FOR DE ELECTIONS WAS NOT POSSIBLE NOR NECESSARY; ALTHOUGH PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS WERE MADE DURING THE REGISTRATION PERIOD THROUGH RADIO, TELEVISION AND NEWSPAPERS URGING ELIGIBLE VOTERS TO

REGISTER.

/AS REGARDS