The Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC) of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Thursday called for the stop of all threats and violence so as to hold the 2019 District Council Ordinary Election in a peaceful and orderly manner.
The election will be held on Nov. 24.
A spokesman for the EAC said that over 4.13 million registered electors can vote in the election, and their right for voting should not be interfered by violence or any improper conduct.
The election should be held in a peaceful, fair, open and safe manner, said the spokesman.
As the polling day is approaching, the EAC calls on all sectors of the society to exercise restraint, respect and be inclusive to people with different views.
The EAC is devoting all its efforts to prepare for the election and formulate contingency plans for possible incidents to ensure the election can be held in an open, fair and honest manner, said the spokesman, adding the smooth proceeding of election owes much to the full cooperation of all Hong Kong residents.
The spokesman stressed that it is the expectation of all the candidates and electors to have a smooth election. As such, different sectors of the community should respect each other, and should not sabotage the long-standing good election culture in Hong Kong or obstruct the election.
There have been concerns as continued protests, confrontations and violent incidents have occurred recently, especially during the weekends, with candidates of the election and public figures assaulted and offices of members of the Legislative Council and District Councils vandalized, the spokesman said, adding the situation is indeed worrying and the EAC does not want to see any threat or violence during the election.
Hong Kong is divided into 452 District Council Constituency Areas under 18 districts. The District Council has a function to advise the HKSAR government on district affairs. Each term of office for the District Council is four years.
