Amendment to method for forming HK's LegCo passed
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Hong Kong's 60-member Legislative Council (LegCo) Friday afternoon voted for the amendment to the method for forming the LegCo in 2012 by a two-thirds majority.
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The vote was 46 in favor, while 12 opposed. Lawmaker Jasper Tsang did not vote since he is LegCo president, plus one lawmaker was ejected from the meeting room.
The approval marked the passage of HK's constitutional reform package in 2012, which also included the method of selecting the Chief Executive (CE) in 2012. Earlier on Thursday, the electoral method for selecting HK's CE in 2012 was passed on a 46-13 vote.
According to the amendment to method for forming the LegCo in 2012, the fifth term Legislative Council in the year 2012 shall be composed of 70 members, the number of seats should be increased from 60 to 70.
Of the new 10 seats, five will go to geographical constituencies through direct elections while the other five to functional constituencies.
The amendment was announced by the HKSAR government and illustrated by Chief Secretary Henry Tang at the LegCo meeting on April 14 this year. After that, some HK political organizations and persons had proposed the five new LegCo seats of functional constituencies in 2012 should be on a "1-person-2-votes" method.
On June 21, HK's Chief Executive Donald Tsang said his Executive Council had given approval in principle to accept the " one-person-two-votes" proposal for returning the five new functional constituencies seats in 2012.
The HKSAR Executive Council said the five new functional constituencies seats in 2012 would be nominated by elected District Council members, for election on a 1-person-1-vote basis, by about 3.2 million HK voters who currently do not have a right to vote in functional constituencies.
Under the "one-person-two-votes" proposal, HK's 3.43 million voters will all have two votes in the 2012 LegCo elections -- one for geographical constituencies and the other for functional constituencies.
The government will put forward proposals regarding the specific electoral arrangements for the five new functional constituencies seats after consulting with the LegCo and the public sometime in the autumn, Tsang said.
The Basic Law and the decision by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) in December 2007 provide that the methods of selecting the HK's Chief Executive and on forming the LegCo in 2012 may be revised in accordance with the principle of gradual and orderly progress.
The two methods will take effect after receiving the consent of HK Chief Executive Donald Tsang and being reported to the NPCSC for approval.
According to the Amendment to the Method for the Selection of the CE passed on Thursday, the number of the Election Committee to elect the fourth term CE in 2012 shall be increased from 800 to 1, 200.
The composition of the 1,200-member committee shall be divided evenly into four sectors -- Industrial, commercial and financial sectors; the professions; labor, social services, religious and other sectors; as well as members of the Legislative Council, representatives of members of the District Councils, representatives of the Heung Yee Kuk, Hong Kong deputies to the National People's Congress, and HK's representatives of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
Candidates for the office of HK CE should be jointly nominated by no less than 150 members of the Election Committee.
The two methods will take effect after receiving the consent of HK Chief Executive Donald Tsang and being reported to the NPCSC for approval.
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