Five amendment regulations facilitating prisoners and people remanded, detained or arrested who are registered electors to cast their votes in public elections have been gazetted and will be tabled at the Legislative Council on June 24.

Under the amendment regulations, dedicated polling stations will be set up inside penal institutions or other suitable places such as police stations where electors in custody will be allocated to cast their votes.

A time slot during the polling hours appointed for a dedicated polling station situated in a penal institution will be assigned to each elector in custody to cast his or her vote.

It is proposed that canvassing activities by visitors during visits made in their business or official capacities to electors in custody will be prohibited.

Candidates and/or their agents may observe the poll at a dedicated polling station. However, due to security reasons, only candidates may enter the dedicated polling stations set up inside maximum security prisons to observe the poll.

For other dedicated polling stations inside penal institutions, either a candidate, his election agent or his polling agent may enter to observe the poll.

Apart from police officers and members of the Civil Aid Service, officers of the Correctional Services Department and other law-enforcement agencies will also be authorised to help maintain order inside a dedicated polling station.

For Legislative Council general elections, District Council ordinary elections and Village Representative elections, ballot paper sorting stations will be designated for sorting ballot papers cast at dedicated polling stations according to each geographical constituency, each District Council constituency or each village.