The two-week nomination period for the general election returning 60 members to the Legislative Council will start July 22. The September 12 election will see 30 members returned from geographical constituencies and another 30 from functional constituencies.

A nominee must be 21 or above, have ordinarily lived in Hong Kong for the three years immediately before the nomination, and is a Chinese citizen with no right of abode in a foreign country, the Registration & Electoral Office said.

To run for a seat in a geographical constituency, the nominee must be a registered geographical constituency elector. For the functional constituency polls, the nominee must be a registered elector for, or have a substantial connection with, the functional constituency concerned.

12 functional constituencies open to non-Chinese residents

Candidature in the following 12 functional constituencies is open to Hong Kong permanent residents who are not Chinese nationals or who have the right of abode in a foreign country: legal; accountancy; engineering; architectural, surveying and planning; real estate and construction; tourism; commercial (first); industrial (first); finance; financial services; import and export; and, insurance.

Nomination forms are available for collection from any District Office of the Home Affairs Department, the relevant Returning Officer's office, and the Registration & Electoral Office on 10/F Harbour Centre, 25 Harbour Road, Wan Chai. They can also be downloaded from the Electoral Affairs Commission's website.

Completed nomination forms must be submitted in person by the nominees to the relevant Returning Officer, between 9am and 5pm from Monday to Friday and between 9am and noon on a Saturday, during the nomination period.

For geographical constituency polls, each list of candidates needs to be subscribed by 100 registered electors of the constituency concerned but not more than 200, and a deposit of $50,000 must be paid.

For functional constituency polls, each nominee must be subscribed by 10 registered electors of the constituency concerned but not more than 20, and a deposit of $25,000 must be paid.

Nominations to close on August 4

Nominees are urged to submit their nomination forms as early as possible so that any mistakes in respect of their entries, such as bad cheques, can be rectified before the nomination closes on August 4.

Candidates can apply to the Electoral Affairs Commission to have registered names, abbreviations and emblems of prescribed bodies and prescribed persons printed on ballot papers during the nomination period.

Enquiries about the nomination procedure may be made on the election hotline 2891 1001. Members of the public are welcome to visit here for more election news.