Report on the 2019 Rural Ordinary Election
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ELECTORAL AFFAIRS COMMISSION REPORT ON THE 2019 RURAL ORDINARY ELECTION Submitted to the Honourable Mrs Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China 18 April 2019 i ABBREVIATIONS ADOs Assistant District Officers APIs Announcements in the Public Interest ARO, AROs Assistant Returning Officer, Assistant Returning Officers BPSS Ballot Paper Sorting Station CCC Central Command Centre CE Chief Executive CSD Correctional Services Department CIV, CIVs Composite Indigenous Village, Composite Indigenous Villages DC District Council DCC, DCCs District Command Centre, District Command Centres DHA Director of Home Affairs district, districts administrative district, administrative districts DO, DOs District Officer, District Officers DoJ Department of Justice DPS, DPSs dedicated polling station, dedicated polling stations EA, EAs election advertisement, election advertisements ii EAC Electoral Affairs Commission EAC (ROE) (RRE) Reg Electoral Affairs Commission (Registration of Electors) (Rural Representative Election) Regulation (Cap. 541K) EACO Electoral Affairs Commission Ordinance (Cap. 541) ECICO Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance (Cap. 554) EP (RRE) Reg Electoral Procedure (Rural Representative Election) Regulation (Cap. 541L) ERO, EROs Electoral Registration Officer, Electoral Registration Officers EV, EVs Existing Village, Existing Villages FR, FRs Final Register, Final Registers HAD Home Affairs Department HKID, HKIDs Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card, Hong Kong Permanent Identity Cards HKSAR Hong Kong Special Administrative Region HYK Heung Yee Kuk ICAC Independent Commission Against Corruption IIR, IIRs Indigenous Inhabitant Representative, Indigenous Inhabitant Representatives IV, IVs Indigenous Village, Indigenous Villages iii KFR, KFRs Kaifong Representative, Kaifong Representatives LEAs law enforcement agencies LegCo Legislative Council MT, MTs Market Town, Market Towns NCZ, NCZs No Canvassing Zone, No Canvassing Zones NSZ, NSZs No Staying Zone, No Staying Zones OMR Optical Mark Recognition PA system Public Address system PR Provisional Register PRO, PROs Presiding Officer, Presiding Officers RC, RCs Rural Committee, Rural Committees ReR, ReRs Resident Representative, Resident Representatives REO Registration and Electoral Office RO, ROs Returning Officer, Returning Officers ROE Rural Ordinary Election RR, RRs Rural Representative, Rural Representatives RRE Rural Representative Election RREO Rural Representative Election Ordinance (Cap. 576) iv SHA Secretary for Home Affairs the Guidelines Guidelines on Election-related Activities in respect of the Rural Representative Election VR Village Representative v CONTENTS Page CHAPTER 1 OVERVIEW 1 Section 1 : Introduction 1 Section 2 : Ordinances and Subsidiary Legislation Governing the 2 Election Section 3 : Legislative Amendments 4 Section 4 : Guidelines on Election-related Activities 10 Section 5 : Preparation of the Proposed Guidelines on 12 Election-related Activities in respect of the Rural Representative Election for Public Consultation Section 6 : Issue of the Final Guidelines 17 Section 7 : The Scope of the Report 18 CHAPTER 2 CLASSIFICATION OF RURAL AREAS 19 Section 1 : Types and Numbers of Rural Areas and Rural 19 Representatives Section 2 : Boundaries of Existing Villages and Market Towns 21 Section 3 : Index of Indigenous Villages and Composite 22 Indigenous Villages CHAPTER 3 REGISTRATION OF ELECTORS 23 Section 1 : Eligibility for Registration as an Elector 23 Section 2 : The Registration Period 26 Section 3 : Publication of Provisional Register and Objections and 27 Claims Section 4 : Publication of the Final Register 30 CHAPTER 4 PUBLICITY 31 Section 1 : General 31 Section 2 : Local Publicity 32 Section 3 : Overseas Publicity 33 Section 4 : Publicity on the Internet 33 Section 5 : Publicity by ICAC 34 vi CHAPTER 5 NOMINATION OF CANDIDATES 36 Section 1 : Eligibility for Nomination of Candidates 36 Section 2 : The Nomination Period 37 Section 3 : Validly Nominated Candidates 38 Section 4 : Briefing for Candidates 39 Section 5 : Introduction to Candidates 40 CHAPTER 6 POLLING AND COUNTING ARRANGEMENTS 41 Section 1 : Polling Days and Polling Hours 41 Section 2 : The Voting System 42 Section 3 : Polling and Counting Stations 43 Section 4 : Polling and Counting Staff 46 Section 5 : Polling Notices 47 Section 6 : Appointment of Returning Officers, Assistant Returning 47 Officers, Assistant Returning Officers (Ballot Paper Sorting Station) and Assistant Returning Officers (Legal) Section 7 : Training of Polling and Counting Staff 48 CHAPTER 7 THE POLLS 49 Section 1 : Polling Dates and Polling Hours 49 Section 2 : Logistical Support and Polling Arrangements 49 Section 3 : Exit Polls 52 Section 4 : Voter Turnout Rates 52 Section 5 : Elections which had Failed and By-elections 53 CHAPTER 8 THE COUNTS 54 Section 1 : Counting Stations 54 Section 2 : Counting Methods 54 Section 3 : Counting Procedures 56 Section 4 : Declaration of Result 59 Section 5 : EAC Visits 59 Section 6 : Visits by Government Officials 60 CHAPTER 9 COMPLAINTS 61 Section 1 : A General View 61 Section 2 : The Complaints-handling Period 61 Section 3 : The Complaints-handling Parties 62 Section 4 : The Number and Nature of Complaints 63 vii Section 5 : Complaints Received on Polling Days 64 Section 6 : The Outcome of Investigations 65 Section 7 : Election Petition 66 CHAPTER 10 REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS 68 Section 1 : General Remark 68 Section 2 : Operational Matters 68 CHAPTER 11 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 80 CHAPTER 12 LOOKING FORWARD 83 viii APPENDICES Page Appendix I : Types of Rural Areas - Existing Villages, Indigenous 85 Villages, Composite Indigenous Villages and Market Towns Appendix II : Breakdown of Number of Rural Areas and Rural 86 Representatives by Administrative District Appendix III : Analysis of Claims and Objections Heard by Revising 87 Officers Appendix IV : Corrections Made to 2018 Provisional Register with 96 Approval of the Revising Officer under Section 28 of the Electoral Affairs Commission (Registration of Electors) (Rural Representative Election) Regulation Appendix V : (A) List of Duly Elected Candidates in Uncontested 97 Resident Representative Elections (B) List of Duly Elected Candidates in Uncontested 112 Indigenous Inhabitant Representative Elections (C) List of Duly Elected Candidates in Uncontested 128 Kaifong Representative Election Appendix VI : (A) List of Existing Villages where Resident 129 Representative Elections Had Failed (B) List of Indigenous Villages where Indigenous 133 Inhabitant Representative Elections Had Failed Appendix VII : Appointment of Returning Officers and Assistant 134 Returning Officers Appendix VIII : (A) Overall Voter Turnout Rates for 2019 Rural 137 Ordinary Election All Polling Days (B) Voter Turnout Rates for 2019 Rural Ordinary 141 Election ix Appendix IX : Table for Counting Multiple Votes 158 Appendix X : Breakdown of Rejected Ballot Papers 159 Appendix XI : (A) Results for Resident Representative Elections 161 (B) Results for Indigenous Inhabitant Representative 192 Elections (C) Results for Kaifong Representative Elections 229 Appendix XII : Breakdown of Complaint Cases Received During the Complaints-handling Period (A) By all Parties 233 (B) By the Electoral Affairs Commission 234 (C) By the Returning Officers 235 (D) By the Police 236 (E) By the ICAC 237 (F) By the Presiding Officers 238 Appendix XIII : Breakdown of Complaint Cases Directly Received 239 from the Public on the Polling Days Appendix XIV : Outcome of Complaint Cases Investigated (A) By the Electoral Affairs Commission 240 (B) By the Returning Officers 241 (C) By the Police 242 (D) By the ICAC 243 1 CHAPTER 1 OVERVIEW Section 1 - Introduction 1.1 The term of office of Rural Representatives (“RRs”) is four years, and the term of office of the RRs elected in 2015 will expire on 31 March 2019. The fifth ordinary election was held in January 2019 to return 695 Resident Representatives (“ReRs”), 789 Indigenous Inhabitant Representatives (“IIRs”) and 56 Kaifong Representatives (“KFRs”) for a term of four years from 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2023. 1.2 Under the Rural Representative Election Ordinance (Cap. 576) (“RREO”), election of RRs is provided for in designated Rural Areas. There are four types of Rural Areas, namely, (1) Existing Village (“EV”); (2) Indigenous Village (“IV”); (3) Composite Indigenous Village (“CIV”) (i.e. composed of two or more IVs); and (4) Market Towns (“MTs”) in Cheung Chau and Peng Chau. Between one to five IIRs at most will be elected for an IV/CIV depending on the number of IIR seats for the respective Villages. ReRs will be elected for EVs and only one ReR is to be elected for each Village. For Cheung Chau and Peng Chau MTs, each elector may elect up to 39 and 17 KFRs respectively. 1.3 The primary functions of the IIRs are to deal with affairs relating to the lawful traditional rights and interests, the traditional way of 2 life of the indigenous inhabitants of his/her Village, and to reflect views on affairs of the Village on behalf of the indigenous inhabitant of the Village concerned. As for the ReRs and KFRs, their function is to reflect views on the affairs of the EV/MT on behalf of the residents of the EV/MT. Section 2 - Ordinances and Subsidiary Legislation Governing the Election 1.4 The 2019 Rural Ordinary Election (“ROE”) was conducted in compliance with the law. The ordinances governing this Election are as follows: (a) the Electoral Affairs Commission