Tung Chee-hwa was returned to office in the second chief executive election, Justice Pang Kin-kee declared after the two-week nomination exercise closed yesterday at 5 pm local time.
Tung faced no challengers.
Pang said he received only one nomination form - Tung's - on February 19. "I determined that Mr Tung had fully satisfied the statutory qualifications for candidature after examining and verifying all the information supplied on the nomination form," Pang said. "I determined that Mr Tung's nomination as a candidate in the 2002 Chief Executive election was valid in accordance with Section 17 of the Chief Executive Election Ordinance.
"Since there has only been one validly nominated candidate by the close of the nomination period, I now declare that Mr Tung Chee-hwa is elected in the 2002 Chief Executive election under Sections 23 and 28 of the Chief Executive Election Ordinance."
The name of the validly nominated candidate, the names of the Election Committee members who nominated Tung and the full election result will be published in the Gazette today.
(Xinhua News Agency March 1, 2002)