ENG-1994 — Page 54

CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

individual elector in a functional constituency was required to be a registered elector for the geographical constituency elections. A corporate elector which wished to vote at a functional constituency election was required to nominate an authorised representative to vote on its behalf. In 1994, the electoral roll for functional constituencies carried 71 327 entries.

The qualifications for candidature in geographical constituency elections are the same as in the district board and municipal council elections. For functional constituency elections, a candidate must have, in addition, a substantial connection with (or, as from the 1995 Legislative Council elections, is a registered elector of) the relevant functional constituency in which he stands. For the 1995 elections, the candidate must be a registered elector of the relevant functional constituency. Each nomination requires 10 subscribers who are electors in that functional constituency, except for the municipal council functional constituencies which require only five subscribers, due to the small electorate in these two constituencies. With the passage of the Legislative Council (Electoral Provisions) (Amendment) Bill 1994 on June 30, the new Legislative Council to come into being in October 1995 will see the abolition of seats for the three official members and for the 18 appointed members. The wholly-elected council will be composed of 20 seats directly elected from geographical constituencies, 30 seats from functional constituencies and 10 seats to be returned through an election committee formed by the district board members elected in September 1994. The increase in functional constituency seats from the present 21 to 30 will encompass the entire working population in the territory, estimated to be some 2.9 million. Nine new functional constituencies, each returning one seat, will cover the primary production, power and construction; textiles and garments; manufacturing; import and export; wholesale and retail; hotels and catering; transport and communications; financing, insurance, real estate and business; and community, social and personal services sectors. There will also be some rationalisation of the electorate of the existing 21 functional constituencies; notably, the replacement of corporate electors by individual electors.

Boundary and Election Commission

The independent and apolitical Boundary and Election Commission, established under the Boundary and Election Commission Ordinance since July 1993, is responsible for reviewing the geographical constituency boundaries of the Legislative Council, municipal councils and district boards, and making recommendations to the Governor. The three- member commission is also responsible for overseeing the conduct and supervision of elections, keeping under review the procedure for these elections and the arrangements for registration of electors to ensure that the elections are conducted openly, honestly and fairly.

The commission accomplished a number of major tasks in 1994. Having conducted extensive public consultation on its provisional recommendations and having regard to the representations received on the proposed demarcations, the commission submitted its recommendations on the demarcation of the electoral boundaries for the 1995 municipal council elections and the Legislative Council elections to the Governor in April and September, respectively.

In February, the commission saw the introduction of its first set of subsidiary legislation to regulate voter registration for the geographical constituency elections. It staged a

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