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Constitution and Administration

- 106 ex officio members who are Hong Kong deputies to the National People's Congress (NPC) and members of the Legislative Council under the NPC subsector and the Legislative Council subsector respectively; and

60 members under the religious subsector who are nominated by six designated bodies.

The election of the fourth-term Chief Executive by the EC was held on 25 March 2012. Mr Leung Chun-ying was declared as returned at the election. On 28 March 2012, in accordance with the provisions of the Basic Law and the outcome of the election by the EC, the State Council of the PRC appointed Mr Leung as the fourth-term Chief Executive, with his term of office commencing on 1 July 2012.

Timetable for Universal Suffrage and Methods for Selecting the Chief Executive in 2017 and for Forming the Legislative Council in 2016

There is now a clear timetable for attaining universal suffrage in Hong Kong. The Standing Committee of the NPC promulgated a decision on 29 December 2007 making it clear that universal suffrage may be implemented for electing the Chief Executive in 2017 and, following that, all members of the Legislative Council may be returned by universal suffrage.

In December 2013, the HKSAR Government formally launched a five-month public consultation to consult the community on the major issues relating to the methods for selecting the Chief Executive in 2017 and for forming the Legislative Council in 2016.

Electoral System for the District Councils

The HKSAR's 18 District Councils advise the government on district affairs, and 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 the New Territories, the chairmen of rural committees as ex officio members.

In May 2013, the District Councils (Amendment) Bill 2013 was enacted, abolishing the system of appointing members to the District Councils with effect from the commencement of the fifth- term District Councils on 1 January 2016. The simple majority voting system is adopted for the District Council elections. For the fourth-term councils (2012-2015), there are 412 District Council constituencies, each represented by one elected member.

In June and October 2013, the government introduced the District Councils Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 3) Order 2013 and the District Councils Ordinance (Amendment of Schedules 1 and 3) Order 2013 respectively to increase the number of District Council elected seats for the fifth-term District Councils by 19 to 431, and to adjust the boundaries of Eastern and Wan Chai Districts from the fifth-term District Councils and to correspondingly amend the number of elected seats for these two District Councils. The orders were passed by the Legislative Council in November 2013 and January 2014 respectively.

Electoral Affairs Commission

The Electoral Affairs Commission, an independent statutory body, is responsible for ensuring that elections in the HKSAR are conducted in an open, honest and fair manner and in

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