EAC Inspects Briefing for Central Counting Station Supervisory Staff of 2026 Election Committee Subsector Ordinary Elections

EAC inspects briefing for Central Counting Station supervisory staff of 2026 Election Committee Subsector Ordinary Elections

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

The 2026 Election Committee Subsector (ECSS) Ordinary Elections will be held on November 22 (Sunday). The Chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC), Mr Justice David Lok, and EAC members Professor Daniel Shek and Mr Bernard Man, SC, inspected a briefing organised by the Registration and Electoral Office (REO) today (November 3) to see for themselves the training provided for the electoral staff taking up supervisory roles at the Central Counting Station.

The staff participating in the briefing today will be mainly responsible for supervising operations at the Central Counting Station on the polling day. This briefing aims to enhance their understanding of the entire counting process and the workflow between respective functional units, and to review and familiarise themselves with the contingency plans under various scenarios, enabling them to lead their team members more effectively in handling special circumstances and to ensure that the counting of votes will be conducted in an accurate and efficient manner.

Mr Justice Lok said that this briefing familiarised the supervisory staff with key steps in the counting process, and the contingency measures to be taken under unforeseen circumstances. He thanked the electoral staff wholeheartedly for their joint efforts and dedication in ensuring that the count would be conducted openly, honestly and fairly.

Five ordinary polling stations will be set up for the ECSS Ordinary Elections. After the close of the poll, all ballot boxes will be delivered to the Central Counting Station located at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre for counting. The REO will continue to arrange on-site drill and simulation exercises for the counting staff to enhance their co-ordination and response capabilities, make a detailed and comprehensive preparation for the elections and ensure that the counting of votes can be carried out smoothly.

The 2026 Election Committee Subsector Ordinary Elections will be held on November 22 (Sunday). The Chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC), Mr Justice David Lok (second right), and EAC members Professor Daniel Shek (fifth right) and Mr Bernard Man, SC (third right), inspected a briefing organised by the Registration and Electoral Office (REO) for the electoral staff taking up supervisory roles at the Central Counting Station to see for themselves the counting process and the workflow between respective functional units. Looking on are the Chief Electoral Officer of the REO, Mr Herman Tse (fourth right), and the Principal Electoral Officer (Elections) of the REO, Mr Chow Wai (first right). Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The 2026 Election Committee Subsector Ordinary Elections will be held on November 22 (Sunday). The Chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC), Mr Justice David Lok (third right), and EAC members Professor Daniel Shek (fourth right) and Mr Bernard Man, SC (second right), inspected a briefing organised by the Registration and Electoral Office (REO) for the electoral staff taking up supervisory roles at the Central Counting Station to see for themselves the counting process and the workflow between respective functional units. Looking on are the Chief Electoral Officer of the REO, Mr Herman Tse (first right), and the Principal Electoral Officer (Elections) of the REO, Mr Chow Wai (fifth right). Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The 2026 Election Committee Subsector Ordinary Elections will be held on November 22 (Sunday). The Chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC), Mr Justice David Lok (third right), and EAC members Professor Daniel Shek (second right) and Mr Bernard Man, SC (fifth right), inspected a briefing organised by the Registration and Electoral Office (REO) for the electoral staff taking up supervisory roles at the Central Counting Station to see for themselves the counting process and the workflow between respective functional units. Looking on are the Chief Electoral Officer of the REO, Mr Herman Tse (first right), and the Principal Electoral Officer (Elections) of the REO, Mr Chow Wai (sixth right). Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The 2026 Election Committee Subsector Ordinary Elections will be held on November 22 (Sunday). The Chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission, Mr Justice David Lok, today (November 3) inspected a briefing organised by the Registration and Electoral Office for the electoral staff taking up supervisory roles at the Central Counting Station and thanked the staff for their joint efforts and dedication. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The 2026 Election Committee Subsector Ordinary Elections will be held on November 22 (Sunday). The Chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission, Mr Justice David Lok, today (November 3) inspected a briefing organised by the Registration and Electoral Office for the electoral staff taking up supervisory roles at the Central Counting Station and thanked the staff for their joint efforts and dedication. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Election Committee Subsector Ordinary Elections' candidates briefed on electoral legislation and guidelines

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

The Chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission, Mr Justice David Lok, conducted a briefing tonight (November 3) for the candidates of the 2026 Election Committee Subsector (ECSS) Ordinary Elections on the electoral arrangements, the guidelines on election-related activities and important points to note in running their electioneering campaigns to ensure that the elections are conducted in an open, honest and fair manner.

Mr Justice Lok said at the briefing, "The ECSS Ordinary Elections will be held on November 22 and the nomination period closed on October 20. A total of 1 115 nomination forms for candidates were received during the nomination period. The Candidate Eligibility Review Committee earlier published notices in the Gazette with the names of the validly nominated candidates, and the Returning Officers (ROs) also published details in the Gazette of the candidates who were duly elected from the uncontested subsectors."

Mr Justice Lok said that for the elections, there are 31 contested subsectors, involving about 5 700 voters, who may vote on November 22 to elect 723 Election Committee (EC) members. The ROs have determined the order of the names of candidates appearing on a ballot paper by drawing lots on October 29 and the candidate numbers have also been promulgated in the Gazette notices.

At the briefing, Mr Justice Lok highlighted the arrangements and points to note of the elections that are related to the candidates.

No canvassing zone and no staying zone

On the polling day, a certain area outside each polling station will be designated as a no canvassing zone to ensure that voters can gain access to the polling stations without interference. No one is allowed to canvass for votes or conduct "de-facto canvassing" such as making hand gestures and greetings in the no canvassing zone. A no staying zone will also be designated in the vicinity of the entrance and exit of a polling station. No one is allowed to stay in the no staying zone.

The Presiding Officer will request the person who has committed such prohibited acts within these zones to leave. If the person concerned refuses to abide by the order, he or she may be evicted by law enforcement officers or authorised persons.

Arrangements for central counting

Central counting will be adopted for the elections. Once the poll is closed, the ballot boxes will be delivered to the Central Counting Station (CCS) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The ROs will supervise the counting process with the assistance of Assistant ROs and counting staff. Questionable ballot papers will be determined by the ROs on site, and their decisions will be final. Any objection raised against the ROs' decisions will be filed on record, and the candidates may make an appeal in accordance with the law.

Video-recording facilities will be installed at the CCS. Candidates, election agents and counting agents may enter the CCS and observe the count at designated areas of the counting zone. Members of the public and the media may also enter the CCS to observe the count, but they are not allowed to enter the counting zone. A notice setting out the maximum capacity of the public area will be displayed outside the CCS.

Announcement of election results

Once the counting of votes of a subsector is completed and verified by the Registration and Electoral Office, the RO will make known the counting results to the candidates and their agents present at the tables for determination of questionable ballot papers at the CCS. If none of the candidates or agents present requests a recount of votes, the RO will thereupon announce the election results. If, according to the counting results, there remain EC members to be elected and the remaining candidates with the highest number of votes have an equal number of votes, the RO shall determine the election results by drawing lots in accordance with the law. The elected candidates will be invited to receive applause on the stage of the Media Centre.

The election results will be displayed outside the CCS and published via press releases and the dedicated election website (www.elections.gov.hk).

Digitalisation of electoral forms

Electronic copies are available for most electoral forms for the elections. Candidates may submit the relevant electoral forms via the REO e-Form Upload Platform and the Central e-Form Services. Election advertisements-related forms can be submitted via the Central Platform for Election Advertisements. Candidates utilising the Central e-Form Services can also make use of the "e-ME" form-filling function of "iAM Smart". However, some of the forms, such as the Return and Declaration of Election Expenses and Election Donations (Election Return), or forms with statutory declarations, are still required under the existing laws or other requirements to be submitted in paper form.

Mr Justice Lok reminded the candidates that once the electronic forms are submitted through the platforms concerned, notifications of confirmation will be issued by the respective platforms via email and/or mobile phone SMS message. With the receipt of the notifications, there is no need to submit the forms using other means again.

Election expenses

To ensure candidates are contesting on a level playing field, a maximum limit of election expenses is set for each subsector: the maximum amount of election expenses for a candidate belonging to a subsector with the number of registered voters not more than 500 is $100,000, while that for a candidate belonging to a subsector with the number of registered voters more than 500 but not more than 5 000 is $160,000. It will be an offence if candidates and their election expense agents incur election expenses in excess of the prescribed maximum limit, be it a very small amount, and the candidates will be subject to criminal liability.

Election meetings

An election meeting is a meeting held to promote or prejudice the election of a particular candidate or particular candidates. Expenses incurred are considered as election expenses. Candidates should note that if they wish to hold election campaigns or election meetings in government premises, they must obtain prior approval from the relevant government departments.

Requirements of election advertisements

According to the law, an election advertisement is an advertisement used for the purpose of promoting or prejudicing the election of a particular candidate or particular candidates. Candidates must upload the electronic copies of the election advertisements and the permission, consent of support, etc, onto the REO's Central Platform for Election Advertisements or the candidate's platform, or submit the relevant materials to the ROs for public inspection within three working days after the publication of the election advertisements. It is an offence if a candidate fails to comply with the requirement.

In addition, at the briefing, a representative from the Independent Commission Against Corruption also briefed the candidates about the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance and the points to note regarding election expenses and election donations to enhance their understanding of the acts that may constitute corrupt or illegal conducts, whereas a representative from Hongkong Post provided the candidates with a brief overview of the arrangements for free postage service for election mail.

Information on the elections is available on the dedicated election website (www.elections.gov.hk). The video of the candidate briefing will also be uploaded to the dedicated election website and the RTHK website (www.rthk.hk/tv/dtt31/programme/2026ecsoebsc) later. The video is also available for replay via the RTHK website or by downloading the "RTHK On The Go" app.

Election Committee Subsector Ordinary Elections' candidates briefed on electoral legislation and guidelines Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Election Committee Subsector Ordinary Elections' candidates briefed on electoral legislation and guidelines Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Election Committee Subsector Ordinary Elections' candidates briefed on electoral legislation and guidelines Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases