The Village Representative Elections (VREs) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of the People’s Republic of China scheduled to take place in July and August, 2003 will be the first of its kind to be conducted under the Village Representative Election Ordinance enacted earlier this year. The VREs will also be regulated by the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance (ECICO) (Chapter 554) which came into operation on 3 March 2000. The ECICO is enforced by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) with an aim to upholding honesty and fairness in all tiers of public including rural elections and preventing corrupt and illegal conduct in these elections, whether the conduct is engaged within Hong Kong or elsewhere.

To help candidates, their election agents, helpers and electors understand the legal requirements as well as to promote a clean election culture in the rural community, the ICAC has launched a comprehensive education and publicity plan for the upcoming VREs.

Noting that some electors of the VREs are living abroad, the ICAC has taken into account their needs in designing its education and publicity plan. The following activities have been included to facilitate them in getting the corruption prevention information relating to the VREs effectively and efficiently.

The Election Homepage
The ICAC has launched an election homepage (www.icac.org.hk/icac/elect/eng/index.html) in its corporate website since mid April 2003 to introduce the ICAC education and publicity plan in respect of the 2003 VREs. Overseas electors have access to the ECICO and details of the ICAC activities only by making a click. The information booklet for candidates, however, will be uploaded to the said homepage when it is distributed to candidates in early June.

Election Enquiry Hotline
The ICAC has set up a 24-hour election hotline (852) 2920 6530 to handle public enquiries on the provisions of the ECICO and the ICAC education and publicity activities for the 2003 VREs. The ICAC 24-hour corruption reporting hotline (852) 25 266 366 will, on the other hand, receive corruption reports relating to elections.

Reference Materials
The ICAC will distribute a handy reference entitled “2003 Village Representative Elections Information Booklet” to candidates and their election agents when the candidates submit their nomination forms to help them avoid infringing the law out of misunderstanding and inadvertence. Together with a gist of the ECICO, the booklet also spells out the application of the law to election situations through questions and answers. It also includes a “Dos and Don’ts” checklist for easy reference. A reminder leaflet will be mailed with the assistance of the Home Affairs Department to all registered electors with the polling notice to remind them of the legal requirement and importance of upholding clean VREs. Overseas electors are welcome to view the content of the reminder leaflet which has been uploaded to the election homepage.

Poster Campaign
The ICAC poster has been distributed to major Chinese communities overseas via the Home Affairs Department and Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices overseas to disseminate the “Support Clean Village Representative Elections” message.

Together We Stand, Support Clean Elections
Apart from the efforts of the HKSAR Government, support from people participating in the elections including the electors, candidates and election helpers is pertinent to upholding the Village Representative Elections clean and fair.