Hong Kong Electoral Affairs Commission Chairman Justice Woo
Kwok-hing reiterated at a Wednesday press conference that Sunday's
Legislative Council (LegCo) polls were conducted in an open, fair
and honest manner.
Woo apologized for the inconvenience caused by insufficient and
poorly designed ballot boxes, emphasizing that he did not blame
election workers for the problem. He stated that ballot boxes
opened during the polling hours were handled in accordance with the
law.
The boxes were reportedly opened when they became too full to
accommodate more ballot sheets, with some workers using rulers or
other items to compress the sheets and make more room.
Woo admitted the design of ballot boxes and ballot sheets and
the logistics for supplying extra ballot boxes to polling stations
may not have been ideal. About 2,000 extra ballot boxes were used
on Sunday.
The commission will conduct trial runs with redesigned ballot
boxes before they are formally put to use in future elections.
He said more than 15,000 public servants with a neutral
political stance conducted the ballot counting so that there would
be no instances of bias for or against any candidate.
Woo stated that the commission will nevertheless conduct a
comprehensive review of the election and submit it to the chief
executive within three months. The findings will help improve
future arrangements.
Voting for the third Legislative Council was conducted last
Sunday. More than 1.8 million Hong Kong residents cast their votes,
for a record turnout rate of 55.6 percent.
(Xinhua News Agency, China.org.cn September 16, 2004)