EAC Releases Proposed Guidelines for Election Committee Subsector Elections, Open for Public Consultation Until July 10

Public consultation on Election Committee Subsector Elections proposed guidelines commences

The following is issued on behalf of the Electoral Affairs Commission:

The Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC) today (June 11) released the proposed guidelines on election-related activities in respect of the Election Committee Subsector (ECSS) Elections for public consultation. The consultation will last until July 10.

The 2026 ECSS Ordinary Elections will be held at the end of this year. Before each ECSS Ordinary Elections, the EAC will review and update the guidelines on election-related activities.

The Chairman of the EAC, Mr Justice David Lok, said that these guidelines aim to explain in simple language the subsisting electoral law to remind candidates and other stakeholders of the provisions and requirements under the electoral law; and to promulgate a code of conduct based on the principles of fairness and equality with regard to the election-related activities not stipulated by the law. The EAC has always made its best endeavours to ensure that all public elections are held in an open, honest and fair manner, and formulating electoral guidelines plays an important role in the conduct of elections. The EAC wishes members of the public to actively participate.

The proposed guidelines are prepared on the basis of the existing guidelines for the ECSS elections (July 2021 edition) and the supplementary information compiled in July 2025 for the ECSS By-elections held last year, with appropriate amendments which are mainly composed of four categories: (1) to reflect the latest electoral legislation, such as updating the arrangements regarding the preparation of the ballot paper account and ballot counting; (2) to reflect new or enhanced election-related arrangements, for instance, voters/authorised representatives can check their latest registration particulars and access the Online Voter Information Enquiry System (www.voterinfo.gov.hk) to check information such as their allocated polling stations via "iAM Smart"; (3) to further elaborate the contents of the guidelines to enable candidates and relevant persons to more easily grasp the areas which they should pay attention to; and (4) to reorganise where appropriate the structure and content of the proposed guidelines by, for example, explaining the relevant electoral arrangements in the form of lists and flowcharts, consolidating the contents of the chapters, etc, with a view to making the proposed guidelines more concise and easier to comprehend.

The proposed guidelines can be downloaded from the EAC website (www.eac.hk), or viewed at the designated offices of the Registration and Electoral Office, the Home Affairs Enquiry Centres of all district offices and the major and district public libraries.

Members of the public could submit written representations on the proposed guidelines to the EAC Secretariat by email (eacenq@eac.hk), post (8/F, Treasury Building, 3 Tonkin Street West, Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon) or fax (2511 1682) on or before July 10. For written representations submitted by post, the postmark date will be taken as the submission date. Late submissions will not be considered.

For enquiries, please call 2891 1001.

The Chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC), Mr Justice David Lok (seventh left), chaired an EAC meeting earlier to discuss the proposed guidelines on election-related activities in respect of the Election Committee Subsector Elections. Also attending the meeting were EAC members Professor Daniel Shek (sixth left) and Mr Bernard Man, SC (fifth left), and the Chief Electoral Officer of the Registration and Electoral Office, Mr Herman Tse (second right). Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC) today (June 11) released the proposed guidelines on election-related activities in respect of the Election Committee Subsector Elections for public consultation. The Chairman of the EAC, Mr Justice David Lok (centre), and EAC members Professor Daniel Shek (left) and Mr Bernard Man, SC (right), welcome views from members of the publ Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

LCSD introduces enhanced identity authentication measures to further combat touting activities

The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) announced today (June 11) a new measure to enhance the authentication of the identity of hirers of leisure and sports facilities/venues, aiming to further combat unauthorised transfer of bookings of these facilities/venues (commonly referred to as touting activities).

Under the new measure, with effect from July 7, 2026, SmartPLAY users who log into the My SmartPLAY mobile app via "iAM Smart" will have priority in booking facilities available within seven days from 7am each day. SmartPLAY users not intending to use "iAM Smart" can continue to log into the My SmartPLAY mobile app, the official SmartPLAY website, smart self-service stations or service counters at various leisure venues to make bookings from 7.15am each day. The new measure leverages the authentication function of "iAM Smart" to strengthen the verification of the identity of hirers of leisure and sports facilities/venues. As the period from 7am to 7.15am is the peak booking time of ordinary users and also the most active booking time of "touters" using computer programmes or automated tools, implementing the new measure in this period will more effectively prevent touting activities.

As "iAM Smart" is for use by persons aged 11 or above, SmartPLAY users aged under 11 can continue to make bookings through the My SmartPLAY mobile app from 7am each day.

For the above new measure, the LCSD strongly encourages SmartPLAY users aged 11 or above to register as "iAM Smart" users for making priority bookings of leisure and sports facilities/venues from 7am each day. Members of the public may visit the "iAM Smart" website (www.iamsmart.gov.hk/en/reg.html) to understand how to register as "iAM Smart" users. In addition, the Digital Policy Office will set up mobile service counters at the LCSD's leisure venues from June 14 to August 9 to assist members of the public in registering as "iAM Smart" users. Details are set out in the Annex. For details of the identity authentication of "SmartPLAY" users via "iAM Smart", please visit the "News" (www.smartplay.lcsd.gov.hk/website/en/news.html) and "Tutorial Video" (www.smartplay.lcsd.gov.hk/website/en/video/tutorial.html) sections on the official SmartPLAY website, or call the enquiry hotline at 3954 5150.

For implementing the above new measure, the LCSD will temporarily suspend the services of the My SmartPLAY mobile app and the official SmartPLAY website from 10.30am to 1.30pm on June 22 (Monday) for conducting a system upgrade. Users who plan to access the system during the said period are advised to do so before or after that period. Alternatively, users may access the SmartPLAY system by using the smart self-service stations or service counters at various leisure venues in person.

The LCSD once again reminds SmartPLAY users not to permit any third party to use their "iAM Smart" accounts, and not to provide their account information to "touters" for making bookings. Any users who have ever used touting services or provided their account information to others should change their passwords as soon as possible. The LCSD will continue to strictly enforce the Conditions of Use of SmartPLAY. For any users breaching the conditions concerned by using computer programmes or automated tools to make bookings or interfere with the normal operation of the system, regardless of whether they have logged into the SmartPLAY system via "iAM Smart" and whether any booking or transaction has been made, the LCSD will suspend their accounts for 360 days without giving any prior notice.

The Leisure and Cultural Services Department, Photo by Bastille Post