A fair, open electoral system in Hong Kong is well established, Secretary for Constitutional Affairs Stephen Lam says.

Speaking to the media today, Mr Lam said Hong Kong's freedoms serve as an example for different societies around the world.

"We are one of the freest societies in Asia, and our democratic system has continued to make progress since our reunification in 1997," he said.

He said the Government has in the past few months applied itself  fully to encourage all registered voters to come out and vote on September 12.

"Our hope is that this will be at least on a par with the turnout rate in 2000 which was somewhere between 43% and 44%. But this depends of course on the final decision to be made by each and every registered voter."

Voters free to decide how to cast their ballot

When asked the Government's position on blank ballots, Mr Lam stressed that it is up to each registered voter to decide how to cast his or her vote.

"But this time around, we have a record number of 159 candidates standing in our election. I hope that this provides a broad enough choice for all registered voters to make their decision. But of course in the final analysis, we respect any decision to be taken by individual voters," he said.

"Our experience in the last few elections is that blank ballots and ballots which are invalid are of a tiny number, a tiny percentage of the total votes cast. We do not expect this to change dramatically tomorrow."

Hong Kong an international city

In response to a US statement expressing concern about Hong Kong, suggesting it will keep an eye on the election, Mr Lam said since Hong Kong is an international city, it is natural that foreign governments and foreign chambers of commerce are interested in Hong Kong's political developments.

He reiterated that Hong Kong's electoral system is managed according to the Basic Law and Hong Kong laws. He hoped foreign governments will continue to respect the basic principle that the politics of Hong Kong are for Hong Kong to manage.