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"The REO had notified these electors of the reallocation. These persons had not lost their voting right. They were entitled to vote at the polling stations to which they were assigned," he said. Mr Justice Woo said the position was also explained to these electors by the presiding officers on the spot after obtaining information from the REO's Enquiry Unit.
As regards the others (268 persons in the NTNW constituency and 199 persons in the NTN constituency), there are no records of their registration as electors.
"They were not entitled to vote," he said.
Mr Justice Woo said the REQ would write to individual complainants to explain to them the reasons why they were turned away from the polling stations on the polling day.
"The vetting exercise covered all 18 districts in Hong Kong," he said.
He explained that to prevent vote planting and other possible abuses, it was imperative that the register of electors was accurate.
It was therefore necessary to vet and update the entries in the register.
Mr Justice Woo dispelled rumours that the names of the electors of only certain districts in the New Territories were deleted from the FR and that the inquiry letters had only been sent recently as absolutely untrue.
He also rebutted criticism that the vetting exercise was conducted too casually.
"The vetting process was conducted in accordance with the procedure laid down in the law, which provides for safeguards to protect the interests of the electors," he said.
On criticisms that some electors who voted in the March Municipal Council (MC) elections were debarred from voting in the September Legislative Council (LegCo) elections, Mr Justice Woo explained that every election was conducted on the basis of the register of electors currently in force.
The register of electors comes into force from its publication in August every year until the publication of next year's register.
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