The following is issued on behalf of the Electoral Affairs Commission:
A total of 1 104 nomination forms for the 2019 District Council Ordinary Election were received by the Returning Officers of the 18 districts by the close of the nomination period yesterday (October 17).
"For each of the 452 constituencies in the 18 districts across Hong Kong, a poll will be held on November 24 (Sunday) should there be more than one validly nominated candidate in the constituency," the spokesman for the Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC) said.
"The District Council Ordinary Election is an important platform for over 4.13 million registered electors to exercise their right to elect their representatives. We are devoting all efforts to prepare for the election and formulate contingency plans for possible incidents, to ensure that the election is held in an open, fair and honest manner," the spokesman said.
"There have been successive occurrences of protests, confrontations and violent incidents in society recently, including assault of public figures and vandalism of offices of members of the Legislative Council and District Councils. The situation is indeed worrying. The EAC does not want to see any threats or violence in the election, and therefore appeals to members of the public to support the holding of the election in a peaceful, orderly, fair and open manner."
The EAC will hold a briefing for candidates and their agents on October 24 (Thursday). Before the briefing session, the order of appearance of names of candidates on ballot papers will be determined by drawing of lots.
The spokesman stressed that Hong Kong has all along had a very good election culture. The District Council Ordinary Election, held every four years, involves a huge amount of financial and human resources from planning to the polling day. The preparatory work is interrelated. It is believed that the candidates and their supporters will commence and participate in electioneering activities after the end of the nomination period. The EAC calls upon the community to make the best efforts to ensure that the election can proceed in a peaceful and safe manner, and electors can access polling stations to cast their votes in a peaceful and safe environment on the polling day.
The EAC is an independent, apolitical and impartial body. As in the past, the EAC is committed to ensuring that public elections are held in an open, fair and honest manner. If anyone is not satisfied with the electoral arrangements, they can make complaints or make election petitions through judicial proceedings to resolve the disputes.
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