The Registration & Electoral Office today stressed that the polling hours for the District Council Ordinary Election will be 15 hours in total, and that the calculation of a constituency's result will not be conducted before its poll is completed.
 

The office made the clarification in response to online rumours about results being calculated according to the votes cast during the first three hours of the November 24 polling day, if the polling station concerned cannot operate after the poll has been conducted for that length of time.

It noted that ordinary polling stations will be open from 7.30am to 10.30pm, 15 hours in total.

On polling day, if a polling station stops operating due to unexpected incidents and its service can resume as normal in 1.5 hours, the opening hours of that polling station will be extended accordingly on the same day.

If the polling station cannot resume its service in 1.5 hours, its polls will be postponed to the reserved polling day on December 1. The Presiding Officer, witnessed by candidates or their agents, will lock and seal the ballot boxes and all related documents for use on December 1.

On the reserved polling day, the opening hours of the polling station concerned will commence from the time its postponement announcement was made and run until 10.30pm. For example, if a polling station stops operating at 10.30am on November 24, its polling hours on December 1 will be from 10.30am to 10.30pm, so that the polling hours will remain as 15 in total.

The office added that a voter's entry in the Final Register of Electors will be marked in the polling station when they collect a ballot paper on November 24, and that they cannot vote again on the reserved polling day.

Noting that queues may form if a large number of electors cast their votes at approximately the same time, the office urged voters to wait patiently and polling staff will serve them as fast as they can.