ENG-1987 — Page 42

CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

Links Between the Representative Institutions

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All members of the Urban Council sit on urban area district boards: elected councillors are ex-officio members of the boards in which their constituencies lie, while appointed councillors are assigned to various other boards. The capital works programme of the Urban Council is presented to each district board with a view to ensuring that it meets district priorities within the council's financial, staffing and land resources.

New Territories district boards maintain a close relationship with the Heung Yee Kuk (a statutory advisory body which represents the indigenous population of the New Territories). Seats are reserved on the district boards for rural committee chairmen who are also ex-officio members of the Heung Yee Kuk's executive committee.

With the formal establishment of the Regional Council in April 1986, a close link has been created with district boards in the New Territories. Each district board has a representative member on the Regional Council, and district board members are also included in the recently-established committees under the Regional Council. Through these channels, the district boards are consulted on a wide range of council matters affecting their areas.

The Regional Council also has a formal link with the Heung Yee Kuk, through the ex-officio membership of the chairman and the two vice-chairmen on the council. Moreover, three of its appointed members have also been chosen from members of the kuk to ensure a strong relationship with the traditional inhabitants of the New Territories.

The Urban Council and Regional Council which cover much the same fields in their respective areas have, during the year, set up liaison meetings between the two bodies and have also instituted joint ventures. In particular the Keep Hong Kong Clean Committee now encompasses both councils. The annual Flower Show is also a responsibility of both councils and is held in each council's areas in alternate years.

In addition, district boards and the Urban Council and Regional Council have links with the Legislative Council. The district boards are grouped into 10 electoral college con- stituencies, each returning one member to the Legislative Council. The Urban Council and Regional Council separately form electoral college constituencies, each returning one member to the Legislative Council.

Electoral System for the Urban Council, Regional Council and District Boards Elections to the Urban Council, Regional Council and district boards are on a geogra- phical constituency basis and through a broad franchise. Practically everyone who is 21 years of age or over and who is a Hong Kong permanent resident, or has been resident in Hong Kong for the preceding seven years, is eligible to apply for registration as an elector in the constituency in which he lives. Registration of new electors is conducted on a voluntary basis annually in August and September although applications for registration can be made at any time of the year. The major registration exercise for 1987 resulted in the addition of 164 786 new electors to the electoral roll. At the end of the year, the electoral roll carried 1 610 998 names, representing 46.7 per cent of an estimated total potential electorate of 3.4 million. Of these electors, 1 066 155 are entitled to vote at Urban Council elections and at district board elections in the Urban Council area. The remaining 544 843 are entitled to vote at Regional Council elections and at district board elections in the Regional Council area.

During the year, the district board electoral boundaries were revised, based mainly on physical development and the growth, movement and geographical spread of the popula- tion. For the district board elections which will be held in March 1988, there will be an