ENG-1994 — Page 52

CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

At present, there are over 70 area committees and 4 000 mutual aid committees. They provide an extensive and effective network of communication between the government and the people at the local grassroots level.

Attached to the district offices are 19 public enquiry service centres, which provide a wide range of free services to members of the public, including answering general enquiries on government services; distributing government forms and information materials; administering oaths and declarations for private use; and referring cases under the meet- the-public scheme, the free Legal Advice Scheme and Rent Officer Scheme. Under the latter scheme, rent officers from the Rating and Valuation Department are available at 15 public enquiry service centres on specified days of the week to advise on tenancy matters and the statutory rights and obligations of landlords and tenants. During the year, a total of 14 947 000 cases were handled. To strengthen the service and enable members of the public to make enquiries without having to travel to a public enquiry centre, a central telephone enquiry centre also operates during office hours.

Links Between the Representative Institutions

The Urban Council and the Regional Council, which cover much the same fields in their respective areas, hold liaison meetings and institute joint ventures.

These two municipal councils are closely linked to the district boards. Each district board in the urban area has a representative member on the Urban Council. In addition to a similar arrangement between the Regional Council and the district boards in the New Territories, members of the latter are also included in the district committees under the Regional Council. Through these channels, the district boards are consulted on a wide range of municipal council matters affecting their areas.

New Territories district boards maintain a close relationship with the Heung Yee Kuk. Seats are reserved on the district boards for rural committee chairmen, who are also ex-officio members of the Kuk's executive committee.

The Regional Council also has a formal link with the Heung Yee Kuk through the ex-officio membership of the Kuk's chairman and two vice-chairmen on the council.

Starting from the 1991-92 Legislative Council session, the two municipal councils and the Heung Yee Kuk became functional constituencies, each returning one member to the Legislative Council.

The Electoral System

The General Electoral Roll

Elections to the Legislative Council geographical constituencies, municipal councils and district boards are through a broad franchise. Practically everyone who is 18 years of age or over, and who is a Hong Kong permanent resident or has ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for the preceding seven years, is eligible to apply for registration as an elector in the constituency in which he lives. An applicant should be ordinarily resident in the territory at the time of application.

A registration exercise is conducted between April and June each year, although appli- cations for registration can be made at any time of the year. The 1994 electoral roll carried 2 450 372 names, representing 61.8 per cent of an estimated potential electorate of 3.96 million.

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