HONG KONG, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission of Hong Kong Fung Wah Saturday called on Election Committee members to cast their votes in the 2012 Chief Executive Election on March 25.
Fung said all the arrangements for the polling station are already in place after visiting the main polling station in the Grand Hall, 3/F, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center on Saturday.
The first round of voting will start at 9 a.m. and close at 11 a.m.
"Upon obtaining their ballot paper at the issuing desk at the main polling station, the Election Committee members can proceed to any one of the voting compartments, use the chop provided to stamp a 'tick' in the circle next to the chosen candidate's name, and fold the ballot paper inward in half before putting it into the ballot box," Fung said.
"Same as other elections, the ballot is secret," Fung stressed.
"In accordance with the legislation, Election Committee members are not allowed to communicate with others, in particular to show their vote on the ballot paper to others, inside the main polling station," he said.
Election Committee members are also not allowed to communicate with others using mobile phones or other communication devices, and to film, take photographs or make any audio or video recording inside the main polling station. They should not remove a ballot paper from the main polling station.
According to the law, no person shall communicate to another person any information obtained in a polling station as to which candidate an elector is about to vote for or has voted for.
No person shall also directly or indirectly induce an elector to display a ballot paper marked by the elector so as to make known to any person any information as to which candidate the elector has voted for, he added.
The chairman also noted that it is an offence for any person to display any propaganda material relating to any candidate or the election, disrupt the poll or counting of votes, disturb or cause inconvenience to any person, or otherwise misconduct himself inside the main polling station and the central counting station.
In the event that there is a breach of the law, the Returning Officer or the Presiding Officer may order the person involved to leave the polling station immediately, he said.
Should there be a need for more than one round of voting, the second and third rounds of voting will be held from 2 p.m. to 3 p. m. and from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. respectively.
The counting of votes will be held in the central counting station at 5/F of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center shortly after the close of the poll for each round of voting.