The Registration & Electoral Office (REO) today hosted a briefing and demonstration session for Legislative Councillors on the operation of the electronic counting system that will be adopted for functional constituencies in the upcoming LegCo General Election (LCGE), scheduled for December 7.

The Electoral Affairs Commission will introduce the system for the first time to count votes in those constituencies in the election. The aim is to ensure the poll is conducted openly, honestly and fairly, and to apply technology to enhance efficiency and produce a counting process that is smoother and more accurate.

REO representatives briefed legislators on the counting process and system. They also gave a demonstration of the system's high-speed scanner; this included scanning ballot papers and consolidation of individual functional constituency counts.

The LegCo members were also given a presentation on the stringent tests and audits conducted on the running of the electronic counting system. These included independent tests by third parties, a computer audit, and stress tests and red team security tests arranged by the Digital Policy Office for large-scale information technology systems.

The legislators engaged in constructive exchanges with the REO representatives regarding the system's operation, and discussed counting arrangements and ways to ensure the counts are conducted in an efficient and orderly manner.