The Government gazetted the nomination period for the Rural By-elections yesterday, 25 August. Seven Rural Representative vacancies will be open for nominations from 30 August to 12 September. The only by-election in Sai Kung is for one Indigenous Inhabitant Representative for Ho Chung.
To be eligible for a Resident Representative By-election, a candidate must be a resident of the Existing Village and must have been a resident of the Village for the six years immediately preceding the nomination. His or her principal residential address must be in the Village and “principal residential address” means the address of the dwelling place at which the candidate resides and which constitutes his or her sole or main home. The candidate must also be a registered elector of the Village.
For an Indigenous Inhabitant Representative By-election, a candidate must be an indigenous inhabitant as well as a registered elector of the Indigenous Village or the Composite Indigenous Village and ordinarily reside in Hong Kong.
All candidates of both categories must be permanent Hong Kong residents aged 21 or above and each candidate must be nominated by at least five registered electors from his or her Village. Each elector can nominate only one candidate. No one can stand as a candidate in more than one Village.
Nomination forms are available at the Home Affairs Enquiry Centres in the New Territories, the Home Affairs Department (HAD) and the Rural Representative Election website (www.had.gov.hk/rre). Nomination forms must be submitted in person to the Returning Officer of the respective Village by 5:00 pm on 12 September.
A spokesman for the HAD said that if there is more than one validly nominated candidate for the same Existing Village, Indigenous Village or Composite Indigenous Village, a poll would be held for that Village on 7 October (Sunday). Eligible electors will receive a polling notice which specifies the date, time and place of the poll.
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