XN000022-1995-02-22 — Page 18

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"The limits merely prescribe the overall ceilings. Within the limits, candidates are entirely free to spend their resources in whatever ways they deem fit. They are also entirely free to spend as much or as little as they like, provided they stay within the prescribed limits," he said.

The election expense limits for the three tiers of elections are reviewed from time to time. When carrying out such reviews over the years, Mr Ng said the Government had been following the basic principle that the limits must not be so high. as to deter aspiring candidates with only limited financial means, nor so low as to make it difficult for candidates to mount an effective campaign.

"In other words, the election expense limits are to provide, in the spirit of open and fair elections, a level playing field for all candidates," he said.

In the review on the election expense limits for the coming Legislative Council elections, the Government had applied the same basic principle while having taken into account a number of practical considerations, he added.

"These include constituency sizes; types and scales of electioneering activities likely to be commonly carried out by candidates; and estimated cost of the common expenditure items, bearing in mind inflation in the past four years," he said.