Polling begins for HKSAR's sixth-term chief executive election

Polling for the sixth-term chief executive election of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) began at 9 a.m. local time (0100 GMT) on Sunday.

This is the first chief executive election since the improvement to the HKSAR's electoral system.

Members of the Election Committee will cast their secret ballots on a one-person-one-vote basis at the main polling station at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center.

The validly nominated candidate for this election is John Lee, former chief secretary for administration of the HKSAR government.

To reduce the flow of people at the main polling station due to COVID-19, the polling period will be half an hour longer than that of the previous chief executive elections and will run until 11:30 a.m. Local time.

After the polling concludes, the vote counting will be conducted manually by the counting staff. The returning officer will announce the election results after the vote count.

Under Hong Kong's amended electoral laws, the HKSAR chief executive shall be elected by an Election Committee which is broadly representative, suits to the actual situation of the HKSAR, and represents the overall interests of the society.

The candidate must obtain more than 750 votes to win the election to become the chief executive designate, pending appointment by the Central People's Government before being sworn in as the HKSAR chief executive on July 1.