China News Service, Hong Kong, May 27 (Reporter Wang Jiacheng) On the 27th, the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passed the "Improvement of the Electoral System (Comprehensive Amendment) Bill 2021" with 40 votes in favor, 2 votes against, and 0 abstentions. Bill).
The bill involves 8 main laws and 24 subsidiary laws.
The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, Zeng Guowei, expressed his gratitude to the members of the Legislative Council for supporting and passing the bill in the third reading.
He said that the SAR government will carry out preparatory work for the three important elections that will follow as soon as possible, including recruiting and training election staff, searching for polling stations, and printing ballots.
The Legislative Council continued to deliberate on the bill that day, and the meeting first resumed its second reading.
In his speech on the motion to resume the second reading debate, Zeng Guowei said that since the SAR government announced the bill, the overall response from the community has been positive. He believes that the bill will specify and clarify the arrangements for improving the electoral system and fully reflect broad representation and balance. The principle of participation is more in line with the overall interests of Hong Kong and the actual situation, and promotes the steady progress of democracy in Hong Kong.
The Bill has made a number of optimizations to the electoral arrangements, reflecting the government's active response to social concerns and catering for the needs of voters.
At noon that day, the Legislative Council first passed the bill with 40 votes in favor, 2 votes against, and 0 abstentions, and passed the bill on second reading.
When Zeng Guowei moved the amendment later, he once again expressed his gratitude to the congressmen and all sectors of society for their opinions.
He pointed out that the 369 amendments covered 12 major policy issues and their amendment objectives, including rationalizing the composition and powers of the Candidate Qualification Review Committee The committee's review opinion makes a decision on the qualifications of the candidates, and no litigation is allowed to avoid any unnecessary doubts.
Many councillors said at the meeting that the improvement of the electoral system this time reflects the efficiency of the work of the SAR government.
The SAR Government has also followed good faith and can listen to the opinions of the Bills Committee and all sectors of the community.
Some Members pointed out that whenever Hong Kong encounters difficulties, the Central Government is the strongest backing for Hong Kong.
Improve the electoral system, provide institutional guarantees for "patriots ruling Hong Kong", and usher in a new situation of chaos and governance in Hong Kong's political environment.
I hope that Hong Kong can grasp the new situation and concentrate on economic development and improvement of people's livelihood.
The Hong Kong Election Commission subsector elections, the seventh Legislative Council election, and the sixth Chief Executive election will be held on September 19, December 19, and March 27, 2022, respectively.
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