XN000022-1995-05-24 — Page 7

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Electoral Provisions Bill to be gazetted

A Bill seeking to amend the qualifying residential requirement for election candidates and to transfer to other bodies certain powers and functions of the Governor consequential to his stepping down from the Legislative Council Presidency will be gazetted on Friday (May 26), a Government spokesman said today (Wednesday).

The Electoral Provisions (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 1995 will amend six ordinances: namely the Legislative Council (Electoral Provisions) Ordinance, the Electoral Provisions Ordinance, the Oaths and Declarations Ordinance, the Regional Council Ordinance, the District Boards Ordinance, and the Independent Commission Against Corruption Ordinance.

The spokesman said the Bill proposed to reduce the period of residential requirement of a candidate from 10 years immediately preceding the date of nomination to three years immediately preceding that date.

"The rationale for imposing some form of residential requirement was to ensure that candidates would have sufficient knowledge of the local conditions.

"We believe that the revised qualifying period is sufficiently short to meet the Bill of Rights requirement, but sufficiently long to ensure that candidates have adequate first-hand knowledge of local conditions," he said.

The Bill also covers a number of amendments arising from the Governor stepping down from the Legislative Council Presidency. The amendments seek to transfer to other authorities certain residual powers and functions originally vested in the Governor.

The spokesman said the Bill proposed that the Clerk to the Legislative Council (the Clerk) should replace the Governor in receiving and publishing notice of non- acceptance of office by a Member elected to the Legislative Council.

"The Clerk should also administer oaths to all Members at the first sitting of a Legislative Council term and before the election of the President of the Council," he said.

On the authority to receive notice of resignation from an elected Legislative Council Member, the spokesman said the Bill proposed that the Legislative Council President (the President) or the Clerk should be the recipients of these notices.