Seven Village Representative by-election vacancies will be open for nominations from April 23 to May 6, the Home Affairs Department says.

The by-elections will cover indigenous inhabitant representatives for Sha Po, Tai Mong Tsai, Pak Tam Au, Tuen Tsz Wai and Ma Tin, and resident representatives for Kam Tsin and Che Keng Tuk. The nomination period will be gazetted tomorrow.

To be eligible for the indigenous inhabitant representative by-election, a candidate must be an indigenous inhabitant, an elector in the indigenous village and ordinarily reside in Hong Kong.

A resident representative by-election candidate must be a village resident who has lived there for six years immediately preceding the nomination, and an elector in the village.

Candidates of both categories must be permanent Hong Kong residents aged 21 or above, and can stand as a candidate in one village only. Each candidate must be nominated by at least five electors from that village, while each elector can nominate only one candidate.

Nomination forms must be submitted in person to the returning officer by 5pm on May 6. They are available at the New Territories District Offices, the Home Affairs Department and the Village Representative Elections website.

A poll will be held on May 31 if there is more than one validly nominated candidate for the same village. For enquiries, call 2152 1521.