Registration Arrangements for Voters and Ex-officio Members

• (1)Special Voter Registration Arrangement
• (2a)Election Committee Ex-officio Members
• (2b)Election Committee Members returned by Nomination
• (2c)Election Committee Subsector Voters
• (3)Legislative Council – Functional Constituency Electors
• (4)Legislative Council – Geographical Constituency Electors

(1) Special Voter Registration Arrangement

The Improving Electoral System (Consolidated Amendments) Ordinance 2021 (the Ordinance) was passed by the Legislative Council (LegCo) on 27 May, and was published in the Gazette and came into effect on 31 May. Under the Ordinance, there are major changes to the composition of the Election Committee (EC), EC subsectors (ECSSs) and Legislative Council functional constituencies (FCs). To allow individuals and bodies whose eligibility is affected and those who are newly eligible to handle their voter registration (VR) matters, the special VR arrangement began on 1 June and ended on 5 July.

*Remarks:

• In light of the reconstitution of the EC, all individuals and bodies who are eligible to register as voters for ECSSs, regardless of whether they are currently registered as ECSS voters, must submit applications to register no later than 5 July, before they can be included in the 2021 ECSS provisional register, and cast their votes in the ECSS elections to be held on 19 September. For details, please visit section (2c) - "Election Committee Subsector Voters".
• As for FC electors, only newly eligible electors or electors whose registration eligibilities are affected need to submit registration applications again. For details, please visit section (3) – "Legislative Council – Functional Constituency Electors" .
• Registration of geographical constituency (GC) electors ended on 2 May. Currently registered GC electors need not submit VR applications again. Generally speaking, the special VR arrangement from 1 June to 5 July is not applicable to applications for new registration of GC electors. Please refer to section (4) – "Legislative Council – Geographical Constituency Electors" .

(2a) Election Committee Ex-officio Members

The following ECSSs contain ex-officio Members:

1. Engineering (15 seats);
2. Architectural, surveying, planning and landscape (15 seats);
3. Legal (6 seats);
4. Education (16 seats);
5. Medical and Health Services (15 seats);
6. Social Welfare (15 seats);
7. Members of the Legislative Council (90 seats);
8. Hong Kong Special Administrative Region deputies to the National People's Congress and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (190 seats)

• All individuals eligible to register as EC ex-officio Members are required to submit registration application no later than 5 July. The relevant deadline has passed.
• If you become a holder of a specified office of an ex-officio Member in a relevant ECSS after 5 July, please refer to the [VR Frequently Asked Question (7)].

[Ex-officio members of the Election Committee (with reference to the Schedule of the Chief Executive Election Ordinance (Cap. 569)]

[Click here to download – Application forms for registration as an EC ex-officio member]

(2b) Election Committee Members returned by Nomination

The following ECSSs contain Members to be returned by nomination:

1. Technology and innovation (15 seats);
2. Accountancy (15 seats);
3. Legal (9 seats);
4. Sports, performing arts, culture and publication (15 seats);
5. Chinese medicine (15 seats);
6. Religious (60 seats); and
7. Representatives of associations of Hong Kong residents in the Mainland (27 seats).

• The designated bodies responsible for nominating EC Members are not required to register. They may nominate EC Members during nomination period. However, the nominees themselves must be registered GC electors.
• Persons who are eligible to be nominated as EC members in the four ECSSs of (i) Accountancy, (ii) Chinese Medicine, (iii) Legal and (iv)Technology and Innovation subsectors must submit applications to register as geographical constituency (GC) electors by 5 July currently not yet registered as GC electors. The relevant deadline has passed. [Click here to download – Application form for registration as a geographical constituency elector ]

[Election Committee Members to be returned by nomination in each subsector and the related designated bodies (with reference to the Schedule of the Chief Executive Election Ordinance (Cap. 569)]

(2c) Election Committee Subsector Voters

All individuals and bodies who are eligible to register as ECSS voters, regardless of whether or not they are currently registered as ECSS voters, must submit applications to register no later than 5 July, before they can be included in the 2021 ECSS provisional register, and submit nominations and cast their votes in the ECSS elections to be held on 19 September.

The relevant deadline has passed. If you submit an application now, it will only be processed for the compilation of the 2022 registers of ECSS voters.

[Click here to download – Application form for registration as an Election Committee Subsector Voter (Individual)]

[Click here to download – Application form for registration as an Election Committee Subsector Voter (Body)]

Individual Voters

The following subsectors comprise individual voters. The priority of registration is as follows, with (1) being the subsector with the highest priority of registration:

1. Heung Yee Kuk;
2. Representatives of Hong Kong members of relevant national organisations; and
3. Representatives of members of Area Committees, District Fight Crime Committees, and District Fire Safety Committees of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon; or representatives of members of Area Committees, District Fight Crime Committees, and District Fire Safety Committees of the New Territories.

Corporate Voters

The rest of the ECSSs comprise corporate voters (except ECSSs which only comprise ex-officio members or members returned by nomination).

Composition and registration eligibilities of the ECSSs

[Ex-officio members of the Election Committee (with reference to the Schedule of the Chief Executive Election Ordinance (Cap. 569)]

[Election Committee Members to be returned by nomination in each subsector and the related designated bodies (with reference to the Schedule of the Chief Executive Election Ordinance (Cap. 569)]

[Specified entities eligible to be registered as voters in each subsector of the Election Committee (with reference to the Schedule of the Chief Executive Election Ordinance (Cap. 569)]

Please note:

Appointment of Authorized Representative

• Corporate voters must appoint an authorized representative (AR) to nominate candidates or cast the vote on behalf of the body (if it was successfully registered) at an ECSS election. According to section 13 of the Schedule to the Chief Executive Election Ordinance (Cap. 569), a decision to appoint an AR of a corporate voter may only be made by the governing authority, by whatever name called, of the corporate voter.

The "3-year operation requirement"

• To better ensure that a corporate voter has a substantial and bona fide connection with its subsector as well as to prevent vote-rigging behaviour, a body may only register as a corporate voter for a subsector only if it has been operating for not less than 3 years after acquiring relevant qualifications for that sector, unless the body is a listed body specified in the electoral law.

  [ECSS Voters – Overview of registration eligibilities and requirement of operating for 3 years]

(3) Legislative Council – Functional Constituency Electors

• Registration of functional constituency (FC) electors ended on 2 May.
• Under the improved electoral system, FC electors whose registration eligibility are affected may submit registration application no later than the deadline of 5 July.

Special VR Arrangement for functional constituency

• For currently registered individual and corporate electors of FCs, if they are no longer eligible to register in their original FC or if their original FC has been abolished after the Ordinance came into effect, and if they are eligible to register in another FC, the individuals and bodies concerned may submit an application to register in any other FC for which they are eligible no later than 5 July.
• On the other hand, for currently registered individual and corporate FC electors whose registration eligibilities are not affected by the Ordinance, they may not apply to change to register in another FC within the special VR arrangement.

• Any individual or body who is eligible to register as an elector in any of the following nine FCs (regardless of whether he/she/it is currently registered as an FC elector) may choose to submit an application to register in any one of these nine FCs no later than 5 July:

  1. Commercial (third) FC*;
  2. Technology and innovation FC*;
  3. HKSAR NPC deputies, HKSAR members of the National Committee of the CPPCC, and representatives of relevant national organisations FC*;
  4. Agriculture and fisheries FC;
  5. Transport FC;
  6. Tourism FC;
  7. Catering FC;
  8. Sports, performing arts, culture and publication FC; or
  9. Medical and health services FC#.
  • Please note that the relevant deadline has passed. If you submit an application now, it will only be processed for the compilation of the 2022 registers of FC electors.

  [Click here to download: Application form for registration as a functional constituency elector (Individual)]

  [Click here to download: Application form for registration as a functional constituency elector (Corporate)]

Remarks:

(*)These 3 FCs are newly added FCs. Eligible individuals and bodies should submit registration applications no later than 5 July.
(#) Representatives of the Chinese Medicine sector has been added to the electorate of this FC. Relevant individuals should submit registration application no later than 5 July.

Please note:

Appointment of Authorized Representative

• Corporate electors must appoint an authorized representative (AR) to nominate candidates or cast the vote on behalf of the body (if it was successfully registered) at a Legislative Council election. According to section 26 of the Legislative Council Ordinance (Cap. 542), a decision to appoint an AR of a corporate elector may only be made by the governing authority, by whatever name called, of the corporate elector.

The "3-year operation requirement"

• To better ensure that a corporate elector has a substantial and bona fide connection with its FC as well as to prevent vote-rigging behaviour, a body may register as a corporate elector for a FC only if it has been operating for not less than 3 years after acquiring the relevant qualifications for that FC, unless the body is specified as a listed body in the electoral law.

  [FC Electors – Overview of registration eligibilities and requirement of operating for 3 years]

Priority of Registration

No person/body may be registered as an elector in more than 1 FCs. If a person/body is eligible to be registered in 2 or more FCs, he/she/it may choose to be registered in any one of the FCs unless otherwise specified.

The priority of registration for FCs is as follows:

1. FCs with individual electors:

   1. Heung Yee Kuk FC;
   2. HKSAR deputies to the NPC, HKSAR member of the National Committee of CPPCC and representatives of relevant national organisations FC.
   ((1) being the subsector with the highest priority of registration)
2. FCs with corporates electors: if a body is eligible to be registered in the any of the seven FCs, namely (i) Agriculture and fisheries FC, (ii) Insurance FC; (iii) Transport FC; (iv) Finance FC; (v) Sports, Performing arts, Culture and Publication FC; (vi) Technology and Innovation FC; and (vii) Catering FC, and any other FC at the same time, the body can only be registered in any of the seven aforesaid FCs but not in any other FC. For avoidance of doubt, there is no particular priority of registration within these seven FCs.

(4) Legislative Council – Geographical Constituency Electors

• The number of geographical constituencies (GCs) will be increased from five to ten in the Legislative Council election to be held in December. Registered electors need not register again.
• Registration of GC electors ended on 2 May. Generally speaking, the special VR arrangement (from 1 June to 5 July) is not applicable to applications for new registration of GC electors.

• Nevertheless, individuals who meet any of the following criteria but have not yet registered as GC electors must submit applications no later than July 5 to register as GC electors:

  1. Individuals who are eligible to register as ex-officio members of the EC;
  2. Individuals who are eligible to register as voters in any of the ECSSs;
  3. Individuals who are eligible to register as electors in any of the two FCs, namely (i) HKSAR NPC deputies, HKSAR members of the National Committee of the CPPCC and representatives of relevant national organisations FC; or (ii) Medical and health services FC;
  4. Individuals appointed by eligible corporate voters/electors/body applicants as their ARs; or
  5. Individuals who are eligible to be nominated as EC members in the four ECSSs: (i) Accountancy subsector; (ii) Chinese medicine subsector; (iii) Legal subsector; or (iv) Technology and innovation subsector.

[Click here to download - Application form for registration as a geographical constituency elector]