Hong Kong Ordinances

ELECTIONS (CORRUPT AND ILLEGAL CONDUCT) ORDINANCE - SECT 41

Appropriate authority to keep election returns

(1) The appropriate authority must keep at the office of the authority all
election returns lodged with the authority in accordance with section 37.

(2) The appropriate authority must, during the relevant period, ensure that
copies of the election returns are made available for inspection by any person
who, during the authority's business hours, asks to inspect any of the
returns.

(3) If a person asks for a copy of an election return or part of a return kept
under this section, the appropriate authority must provide the person with
such a copy, subject to payment of a copying fee not exceeding an amount
calculated in accordance with a rate fixed in accordance with subsection (4).

(4) The appropriate authority is required, by notice published in the Gazette,
to fix a rate for the purposes of subsection (3). The fixing of the rate is
subject to the approval of the Financial Secretary. Such a notice is not
subsidiary legislation for the purposes of the
Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance ( Cap 1).

(5) After the end of the relevant period, the appropriate authority may
arrange for the election returns lodged with the authority to be destroyed,
but if, by the end of that period, a candidate who has lodged an
election return with the authority asks for it to be returned to the
candidate, the authority must comply with the request.

(6) For the purposes of this section, the relevant period, in relation to an
election return lodged with the appropriate authority, is the period beginning
with the time when the return is lodged with the authority and ending with the
first anniversary of the date on which the result of the relevant election is
published.