Poll for Legislative Council Kowloon West geographical constituency by-election to be held tomorrow

     The Legislative Council Kowloon West geographical constituency by-election will be held tomorrow (November 25). The Registration and Electoral Office (REO) reminds electors to carry the original of their Hong Kong identity card to the designated polling station to vote.

     A total of 73 ordinary polling stations in the Kowloon West geographical constituency and a maximum of 22 dedicated polling stations will open tomorrow for about 490 000 electors of the Kowloon West geographical constituency listed on the 2018 Final Register to cast their votes.

     The polling hours for the ordinary polling stations and the dedicated polling station set up at Cheung Sha Wan Police Station will be from 7.30am to 10.30pm. For the dedicated polling stations set up at penal institutions, for security reasons, the polling hours will be from 9am to 4pm.

     "Electors must carry the original of their Hong Kong identity card or other specified alternative documents to the designated polling station to collect their ballot papers to cast votes," a spokesman for the REO said.

     "Voting is very simple. Electors must use the chop provided by the polling stations to stamp the ballot paper with a tick in the circle opposite the name of the chosen candidate. Electors should then fold the ballot paper once according to the pre-folding by polling staff to conceal the mark before putting the ballot paper into the ballot box."

     Electors may only cast their votes at the designated polling station as specified on their poll card. Electors can log in to the Online Voter Information Enquiry System (OVIES) (www.voterinfo.gov.hk) if they have not yet received their poll card to check whether they are registered electors of the Kowloon West geographical constituency and their designated polling station. They can also call the election hotline 2891 1001 for enquiries.

     The spokesman reminded the public that according to the law, polling stations are restricted areas accessible only by electors and authorised persons.

     "Unauthorised persons are strictly prohibited from using mobile phones, taking photographs, filming, and making video or audio recordings in the polling stations," he said.

     Once the poll closes, all ordinary polling stations will be converted into counting stations for counting of votes. The counting stations will be open to the public once the conversion has been completed. Members of the public will be able to watch the counting process at designated areas inside the counting stations.

     A media centre will be set up at the Tiu Keng Leng Sports Centre, 2 Chui Ling Road, Tseung Kwan O, where the election result will be announced by the Returning Officer. A public gallery will be set up for members of the public to watch the announcement of result at the media centre. In view of the limited seating capacity, admission to the public gallery will be arranged on a first come, first served basis from 11pm tomorrow. To facilitate admission control, members of the public admitted to the venue will be required to wear a wristband provided by the REO for identification purpose. Public enquiries about the venue arrangement can be made at 3904 0290, which will operate from 10pm tomorrow until the announcement of the election result.

     Enquiries about the by-election can be made to the election hotline at 2891 1001, which will operate from 7am to 11pm tomorrow.

     A complaints hotline, 2827 7251, will also be in service from 7.30am to 11pm tomorrow to handle complaints about breaches of electoral rules and guidelines.