400 nominations received for District Council polls
The Registration and Electoral Office said it'd received 400 nomination forms for the upcoming District Council election as the nomination period drew to a close on Monday. Of the nomination forms received, 228 are for seats in 18 district committees constituencies and 172 for races in 44 geographical constituencies. Officials said there was one notice of withdrawal, with the nominee pulling out of the Tuen Mun East geographical constituency. "The District Council Eligibility Review Committee will, within 14 days after the close of nominations, publish in the Gazette a notice of validly nominated candidates for each constituency. A poll will be held on December 10 if the number(s) of validly nominated candidates for election exceed the number(s) of members to be returned for the constituency," the office said in a statement. The Democratic Party, Third Side and the Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood said they could not take part in the polls because they could not secure enough nominations from local advisory bodies. The DAB has the highest number of nominees, accounting for 77 of the 228 in district committees constituencies and 44 of the 172 in geographical constituencies. Members of local advisory bodies are due to elect 176 councillors in the district committees constituencies, and eligible voters will choose another 88 in their geographical constituencies. The new councils will also have 179 appointed and 27 ex-officio members, for a total of 470. The District Council election is slated for December 10.