ENG-2003 — Page 39

CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

representatives to the Election Committee by nomination from designated religious bodies.

The method for returning six members to the second term Legislative Council by the Election Committee is the block vote system --- - each member of the Election Committee is required to cast six votes and the result is determined by a simple majority. After the end of the second term Legislative Council, the Election Committee will no longer be responsible for returning members of the Legislative Council. The six seats thus released will be filled by members returned from geographical constituencies.

Elections for the third term Legislative Council will be held in 2004. The Legislative Council (Amendment) Ordinance 2003, enacted in July 2003, provides the legal basis for the detailed arrangements of the elections. The third term Legislative Council will have a total of 60 members, with 30 members returned by geographical constituencies, and another 30 by functional constituencies.

Electoral System for the Chief Executive

Under the Basic Law, the Chief Executive is selected by election or through consultations held locally, and appointed by the CPG. The method for selecting the Chief Executive shall be specified in the light of the actual situation in the HKSAR and in accordance with the principle of gradual and orderly progress. The Basic Law also provides that if there is a need to amend the method for selecting the Chief Executives for the terms subsequent to the year 2007, such amendments must be made with the endorsement of a two-thirds majority of all the members of the Legislative Council and the consent of the Chief Executive, and shall be reported to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for approval. The ultimate aim is the selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures. Annex I to the Basic Law lays down the basic framework as to how the Chief Executive shall be selected through local election. It provides, inter alia, that the Chief Executive shall be elected by a broadly representative Election Committee through secret ballot on a one-person-one-vote basis.

In accordance with the Basic Law, the Election Committee responsible for electing the second term Chief Executive in 2002 is one and the same as the Election Committee that returned six members to the second term Legislative Council in 2000. (For the composition of the Election Committee, see the relevant section under Electoral System for the Legislative Council.) Since only one candidate, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, was validly nominated at the close of nominations, he was therefore declared elected at the 2002 Chief Executive Election by the Returning Officer in accordance with the Chief Executive Election Ordinance, on February 28, 2002. On March 4, the CPG formally announced, in accordance with the Basic Law, the appointment of Mr Tung Chee Hwa as the Chief Executive for a second term of five years.

Electoral System for the District Councils

Eighteen District Councils (DCs) are established in the HKSAR to advise the Government on district affairs and to promote recreational and cultural activities, and environmental improvements within the districts. A District Council is composed of elected members, appointed members, and, in the case of District Councils in rural areas, the chairmen of Rural Committees as ex officio members. The simple majority voting system is adopted for DC elections. For the first term DCs, the HKSAR was

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