Chief Secretary John Lee today called on the people of Hong Kong to cast their votes in the upcoming Legislative Council General Election, the largest-scale poll in the city’s history in which 90 legislators will be elected.

Mr Lee made the statement during an inspection of the preparatory work of the central counting station set up in the Convention & Exhibition Centre for the election, noting the election is an important milestone in improving the electoral system.

Voters in Hong Kong will unprecedentedly elect 90 Legislative Councillors who will fulfil the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong", Mr Lee said.

Those who are elected will be committed to the interests of national development and the long-term prosperity and stability of the city, genuinely committed to serving the public, truly constructive for society and refuse to be destructive or be foreign agents, he added.

The Chief Secretary encouraged the voters to cast their votes on December 19 to make the election a success so that forces that aim to sabotage the election will not succeed.

Mr Lee also spoke to the personnel working at the central counting station. A record high of some 40,000 electoral staff will carry out duties related to polling and counting procedures.

To enable the election to be conducted smoothly, electoral staff should be committed to work, familiarise themselves with the procedures, be flexible and adaptive to changes, he said.