Hong Kong Regulations

BOUNDARY AND ELECTION COMMISSION (ELECTORAL PROCEDURE) (GEOGRAPHICAL CONSTITUENCIES) REGULATION - SECT 51

Decisions as to questionable ballot papers

Caution: This is a past version. See the current version here.

(1) The returning officer shall separate from the other ballot papers, and set
aside, any ballot paper which appears to him to be a ballot paper which is
described in section 50.

(2) A candidate in respect of the constituency concerned or an election agent
or counting agent of such a candidate, if present at the counting station,
shall be entitled to inspect any ballot paper set aside under subsection (1),
and to make representations to the returning officer concerning the same.

(3) After considering any such representations, the returning officer shall
make a decision as to whether that ballot paper is a ballot paper which under
section 50 should not be counted or whether it should be counted.

(4) The returning officer shall endorse the word "rejected" and
"            " on any ballot paper which he determines, under subsection 


(3), to be a ballot paper not to be counted, and shall add to the
endorsement the words "rejection objected to" and " " if a candidate, election
agent or counting agent in respect of the constituency concerned objects to
the decision not to count.

(5) If a candidate, election agent or counting agent in respect of the
constituency concerned objects to a decision made by the returning officer
under subsection (3) to count a ballot paper, the returning
officer shall endorse that ballot paper with the words "acceptance
objected to" and "                   ".


(6) The returning officer shall prepare a statement of rejected ballot papers
under the headings of-

   (a)  giving more than one vote;

   (b)  writing or mark by which the elector can be identified;

        (c)	endorsed with the word "TENDERED" and "      ";


        (d)	endorsed with the word "SPOILT" and "      ";


   (da) unused;

   (e)  unmarked;

   (f)  void for uncertainty; or

   (g)  substantially mutilated. (L.N. 656 of 1994; L.N. 221 of 1995)