Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC) Chairman David Lok visited a mock polling station at North Point Community Hall today, ahead of the 2023 District Council Ordinary Election, which will be held on December 10.

Mr Lok reminded electors to bring their identity document to the designated polling station specified on their polling card, and to follow proper voting procedures.

Electors who have yet to receive their polling card can log in to the Online Voter Information Enquiry System to check their elector status and polling information. They may also call 2891 1001 for enquiries.

Mr Lok said preparatory work for the election has reached the final stage, adding that the EAC and the Registration & Electoral Office are making a final sprint to ensure a smooth polling and counting process. He chaired the Crisis Management Committee's first meeting this afternoon to consider different circumstances that may arise during the election and ensure its smooth running. 

For the District Council geographical constituency (DCGC) elections, 171 candidates will contest 88 seats in 44 constituencies. As for the District Committees constituency (DCC) elections, 228 candidates will contest 176 seats in 18 constituencies.

The mock polling station at North Point Community Hall is among four mock polling stations open for electors to familiarise themselves with voting procedures for the election.

The other three are at Kwun Tong Community Centre, Tai Po Community Centre, and Tseng Choi Street Community Hall in Tuen Mun.

All four venues be open from today until December 8. Group visits can be made by calling 2967 0367 or by faxing 2834 0934.

The polling hours for ordinary polling stations, as well as dedicated polling stations set up at police stations, will be from 8.30am to 10.30pm. The polling hours for District Committees constituency polling stations in the 18 districts will be from 8.30am to 2.30pm.

To vote at any of four Near Boundary Polling Stations at two secondary schools in the vicinity of Sheung Shui MTR Station, electors were required to register through the online registration system in advance of a deadline of 6pm today.

As has been the case in other public elections in recent years, two queues will be set up at the polling stations for this election. One queue will be for people aged 70 or above, pregnant women and those with disabilities, while a second queue will serve other electors.

Speaking to media today, Mr Lok noted that there have been some reports about the provision of transportation for elderly people to vote.

He stressed that under the election regulations, no one can offer any benefits to any voters in order to persuade them to vote for a particular candidate.

“So in such cases, anyone who provides this kind of transportation with a view to persuading someone to vote for a particular candidate, this would be in violation of the election law.

“But on the other hand, if there is just a provision of transportation without this kind of persuasion, then according to our guidelines, it can be done, but they have to make sure that the one who provides the transportation will not offer any advantages or persuade the voters to vote for a particular candidate.

“We will not actively police or send people to investigate, but we will act upon complaints.”

Mr Lok also reminded electors that the ballot is secret and that they must mark their papers on their own, although they may ask for assistance from the polling staff if needed.

Most DCGC polling stations will be converted into counting stations.

For the DCCs, after the polls close, polling staff will ensure that the locked and sealed ballot boxes are not interfered with, and the counting of votes will only begin after the close of the DCGC polls.

The public, including the media, have the right to observe the counts inside the public areas at counting stations. The results will be uploaded to the dedicated election website and published in the form of a press release.

Call 2891 1001 for enquiries.