Chief Executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Donald Tsang Yam-kuen announced Friday that he had secured 641 nominations from members of the Election Committee which will elect Hong Kong's next leader in March.

Tsang made the announcement when submitting the nominations to the Electoral Office of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government.

Nominations for the election of the third-term HKSAR chief executive are open from Feb. 14 to March 1. Those who win nominations from at least 100 Election Committee members are eligible to stand. The Election Committee has 796 members.

Tsang will become a formal candidate for the CE election after his nominations are confirmed by the Electoral Office, under election regulations.

He told reporters after submitting the nominations that he felt excited about winning such a high number of nominations, which indicated that his election platform had met approval from the Election Committee members who regarded him as an ideal candidate for the chief executive.

He pledged that if he is re-elected, he will do his utmost to lead Hong Kong to another new high, together with all people in Hong Kong.

Ballots of the CE election will be cast on March 25, and the winner will become the third-term HKSAR chief executive after the appointment by the Central People's Government.

(Xinhua News Agency February 16, 2007)