Nominations for the third-term Chief Executive Election will be open from February 14 to March 1. The election will be held on March 25.

Notices on the nomination procedures and the appointment of the returning officer for the election were published in the Gazette today.

To qualify as a candidate, nominees must be Hong Kong permanent residents, aged 40 or above, and a Chinese citizen with no right of abode in any foreign country. They must also have ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for at least 20 years.

At least 100 members of the Election Committee must nominate each candidate.

The Electoral Affairs Commission has appointed Justice Louis Tong, a judge of the High Court's Court of First Instance, as the election's returning officer.

Nomination forms are available from the Registration & Electoral Office and can be downloaded from its website. 

A candidate is required to hand in his/her completed nomination form to the returning officer in person on 10/F, Harbour Centre, 25 Harbour Road, Wan Chai from 9am to 5pm on Mondays to Fridays, and from 9am to noon on Saturday, during the nomination period.

The commission also today released the updated guidelines on election-related activities in respect of the Chief Executive election.