An amendment regulation which aims to streamline electoral arrangements including vote-counting will be tabled to the Legislative Council on May 19, the Electoral Affairs Commission says.

The Electoral Affairs Commission (Electoral Procedure) (Legislative Council) (Amendment) Regulation 2004, gazetted today, provides for a new arrangement whereby counting of geographical constituency votes will be carried out at individual polling stations after the close of polls.

This arrangement, as shown in last year's District Council election, will further enhance efficiency of the counting process and eliminate security risks in transporting ballot boxes from polling stations to counting stations.

For functional constituencies, electors are no longer required to put their marked ballot papers into envelopes. They will be asked to put these ballot papers face down into the ballot box.

Votes tallied at central location

The counting arrangement for functional constituencies will be similar to that used in the last Legislative Council election, under which votes are counted at a central counting station.

To improve the handling of questionable ballot papers for both geographical and functional constituencies, ballot papers that are clearly invalid will no longer be treated as questionable under the new provisions, and they will not be counted or subject to objection.

The amendment regulation makes it no longer necessary for candidates to submit subscribers' registered residential address on the nomination forms. It also enables a presiding officer to vary the no-canvassing zone and the no-staying zone under the authorisation of a returning officer.