Hong Kong Regulations

ELECTORAL AFFAIRS COMMISSION (ELECTORAL PROCEDURE) (LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL) REGULATION - SECT 28

Chief Electoral Officer to designate polling stations and counting stations

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

(1) The Chief Electoral Officer must designate, by notice published in the
Gazette, one or more places for-

   (a)  conducting a poll in respect of an election; and

   (b)  counting of the votes.

(1A) The Chief Electoral Officer may designate under subsection (1) the same
place as a polling station and a counting station. (L.N. 84 of 2004)

(1B) The Chief Electoral Officer must designate a polling station at which
less than 500 electors are allocated to vote as a small polling  station.
(L.N. 84 of 2004 and L.N. 140 of 2004)

(1C) If in relation to a geographical constituency, 2 or more polling stations
have been designated and one or more than one of them is a
small polling station, the Chief Electoral Officer must designate a
polling station, not being a small polling station, as a main counting 
station for the purpose of counting the votes cast at the polling station and
the small polling station or any of the small polling stations, as the case
may be. (L.N. 84 of 2004 and L.N. 140 of 2004)

(2) The Chief Electoral Officer may designate under subsection (1)-

   (a)  premises occupied by a Government department for official
purposes ("Government building");

   (b)  a structure, place or premises hired under subsection (3) or which is
        to be so hired;

   (c)  any school in respect of which a grant is made out of the general
        revenue;

   (d)  a building occupied by an organization, association or body in respect
        of which a grant is made out of the general revenue; or

   (e)  any other structure, premises, whether permanent or temporary, mobile
        or otherwise, or place, which the Chief Electoral Officer considers
        suitable for a purpose specified in subsection (1).

(3) The Chief Electoral Officer may hire any structure, place or premises or a
part of a structure, place or premises to designate as a polling station or a
counting station.

(4) The Chief Electoral Officer may designate a place described in subsection
(2) in addition to or in substitution of a place designated under this section
as a polling station or a counting station. The Chief Electoral Officer must
publish notice of such designation. The notice may be published in a manner
that Officer thinks fit.

(5) The Chief Electoral Officer must ensure that there are sufficient
polling stations and counting stations to enable polling and
counting of the votes to take place smoothly and efficiently.

(6) The Chief Electoral Officer must make available, at that Officer's office,
for public inspection, a list of the polling stations and counting stations.

(7) The Chief Electoral Officer must, in the case of a polling  station or a
counting station which is not a Government building-

   (a)  make good any damage caused; and

   (b)  defray any expenses incurred by any person having control over the
        structure, place or premises, due to their having been used as a
        polling station or a counting station.

(8) The Chief Electoral Officer may take such steps as that Officer considers
appropriate, including taking out insurance, to insure against any risk of
loss or damage that may arise due to or in connection with the use of any
structure, place or premises as a polling station or a counting  station.

(9) The Chief Electoral Officer may-

   (a)  in relation to a general election, designate-

        (i)    one or more counting stations for counting the votes for each
               geographical constituency cast at all the polling stations used
               for polling for the general election; and

        (ii)   one counting station for counting the votes for functional
               constituencies cast at all the polling stations used for
               polling for the general election;

   (b)  in relation to a by-election for a constituency, designate one or more
        counting stations for counting the votes cast at all the polling 
        stations used for polling for the by-election. (L.N. 65 of 2000; L.N.
        84 of 2004)