ENG-2016 — Page 35

1

Constitution and Administration

functional constituency returns five Legislative Council members, while the other 27 functional constituencies return one member each.

The five seats of the District Council (second) functional constituency are returned with the whole of Hong Kong as a single constituency in accordance with the proportional representation list system. Candidates must be elected District Council members who are nominated by no fewer than 15 other elected District Council members, and electors must be registered geographical constituency electors who are not registered in other functional constituencies.

The electorate of functional constituencies representing professional groups is generally based on membership of professions with recognised qualifications, including statutory qualifications. The electorate of functional constituencies representing economic or social groups is generally made up of corporate members of major organisations representative of the relevant sectors.

A candidate in a functional constituency must satisfy the same age and residential requirements as for a geographical constituency election, be a registered elector, and be a registered elector of, or have a substantial connection with, the relevant functional constituency. To give due recognition to the significant contribution made by foreign nationals and the fact that Hong Kong is an international city, HKSAR permanent residents who are not of Chinese nationality or who have the right of abode in foreign countries may stand for election in 12 designated functional constituencies, numbered 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 21 and 23 above.

More than 2.2 million registered electors cast their votes at the election for the sixth-term Legislative Council on 4 September 2016, representing a turnout of 58 per cent.

Electoral System for Chief Executive

In accordance with the Basic Law, the Chief Executive is elected by an Election Committee. The committee consists of 1,200 members from four sectors comprising 38 subsectors:

• 1,034 members from 35 subsectors who are returned through elections;

⚫ 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 committee 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, the State Council of the PRC appointed Mr Leung as the fourth-term Chief Executive, with his term of office starting on 1 July 2012.

The 2016 Election Committee subsector elections were held on 11 December 2016. The new Election Committee starts its term of office on 1 February 2017 and will elect the fifth-term

9