XN000022-1986-03-07 — Page 23

FRIDAY, MARCH 7, 1936

OVERALL VOTER TURNOUT VERY SATISFACTORY - LIAO

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THE OVERALL TURNOUT OF 362 725 VOTERS, OR 27 PER CENT OF THE TOTAL ELECTORATE, AT YESTERDAY'S URBAN AND REGIONAL COUNCIL ELECTIONS WAS DESCRIBED AS +VERY SATISFACTORY+ BY THE SECRETARY FOR DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION, MR DONALD LIAO.

SPEAKING TO REPORTERS AT THE PRESS CENTRE OF THE CITY AND NEW TERRITORIES ADMINISTRATION HEADQUARTERS LATE LAST (THURSDAY) NIGHT, MR LIAO SAID ONE MUST CONSIDER THAT THIS WAS THE FIRST ELECTION FOR THE REGIONAL COUNCIL AND THAT THE NUMBER OF CANDIDATES WAS MUCH LESS THAN THAT OF THE DISTRICT BOARD ELECTIONS LAST YEAR.

THERE WERE 79 CANDIDATES TAKING PART IN YESTERDAY'S ELECTIONS AS COMPARED WITH 501 IN LAST YEAR'S DISTRICT BOARD ELECTIONS, HE NOTED.

HE SAID THE RESULTS FOR THE URBAN COUNCIL ELECTIONS HAD BEEN PARTICULARLY ENCOURAGING AS THE TOTAL NUMBER OF 218 837 VOTES, OF 23.2 PER CENT, HAD ALMOST DOUBLED THE FIGURE OF 127 303 IN 1983.

THIS WAS A REMARKABLE INCREASE ALTHOUGH IT ONLY REPRESENTED A SMALL RISE IN PERCENTAGE POINT AS COMPARED WITH LAST YEAR'S 22.4 PER CENT.

AS REGARDS THE REGIONAL COUNCIL, MR LIAO SAID THE 35.9 PER CENT TURNOUT WAS ALMOST AS GOOD AS LAST YEAR'S DISTRICT BOARD ELECTIONS OF 37.5 PER CENT.

ASKED TO COMMENT ON THE LARGER TURNOUT IN THE NEW TERRITORIES, PR LIAO SAID THE TREND SHOWED THAT THE RESPONSE IN THE NEW TERRITORIES WAS MORE ENTHUSIASTIC WHEN COMPARED WITH THE URBAN AREAS.

HE SAID HE BELIEVED THAT THIS WAS BECAUSE EVERYBODY KNOWS EVERYONE ELSE MUCH BETTER+ IN THE RURAL AREAS AND IN THE NEW TOWNS WHILE IN MULTI-STOREY BUILDINGS IN THE URBAN AREAS, THE CHANCE OF GETTING TO KNOW ONE'S NEIGHBOUR WAS MUCH LESS.

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