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Historic elections going well: Governor
The most open elections in Hong Kong's history were going extremely smoothly, the Governor, the Rt Hon Christopher Patten, said after visiting a polling station in Sheung Shui today (Sunday).
He thanked the news media for encouraging the community to vote and praised the work being done by 14,000 civil servants in polling stations across the territory.
The Registration and Electoral Office (REO) was doing a superb job, he said.
"You've only got to see inside to see how they are helping people through the process and it's working extremely smoothly," Mr Patten said.
The Governor said the voter turnout was about the same rate as at the same point in the District Board and Municipal Council elections.
However, the electoral register was about 600,000 larger so an extra 20,000 people or more had voted during the morning, he said.
The actual number of people voting over the day would probably be much higher than at previous elections.
"These are credible, fair elections, they're the most open elections in Hong Kong's history and I am sure everybody will hope that the legislature that will emerge as a result of today's historic events, carries out its responsibilities for its full term," Mr Patten said.
"I am sure in that the way they vote today, people are thinking not just of the short term, not just of next week's problems and next month's problems. I am sure they're expressing a view about the sort of place they want Hong Kong to be.
"And I think most people want Hong Kong to be an open, plural society and want both the present sovereign and the future sovereign powers to live up to the promises that have been given to the people of Hong Kong in good faith, that there would be a steady process of democratisation in the territory."
Asked about reported problems at some polling booths, Mr Patten said the voter registration process had been fair and reasonable.
People who thought they had been wrongly excluded from the register could complain to the REO which would handle each case appropriately.
End/Sunday, September 17, 1995
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