The 2021 Election Committee Subsector Ordinary Elections were held successfully, symbolising that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has reached a new milestone, the Government said today.

This is the first election held after improving Hong Kong's electoral system.

The Government said it demonstrated that the Hong Kong SAR has reached a new milestone in the implementation of the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong" in the political system to ensure that the power of the Hong Kong SAR is in the hands of patriots, thereby promoting the realisation of good governance in Hong Kong.

It noted that after improving the electoral system, the new committee consists of a number of subsectors and is broadly representative. It also plays an important role in the political system.

Apart from nominating and electing the Chief Executive, it will also nominate the candidates for the Legislative Council election and elect 40 LegCo members.

The Government pointed out that the new constitutional function will facilitate rational interaction between the executive authorities and the legislature, and effectively enhance governance efficiency.

With the new electoral system laying down a solid foundation with the support of the general public, the Government believes that Hong Kong is able to fully and accurately implement the principle of “one country, two systems” and maintain long-term prosperity and stability.

The committee members are returned by three methods, including ex-officio members, nominated members and elected members.

In the elections, 364 committee members were elected and a total of about 4,380 voters voted, representing a turnout rate of nearly 90%.

They will form the new term together with those who do not require a poll, including the 325 ex-officio members who have been validly registered, the 156 nominees who have been validly nominated and 603 candidates who have been returned uncontested earlier.

The term of office will start on October 22 and end on October 21, 2026.

The Government thanked the Electoral Affairs Commission, the Registration & Electoral Office and all staff for their professional work, ensuring that the elections were conducted in an open, fair and honest manner, as well as having successfully implemented a number of enhancement measures for the first time, including the Electronic Poll Register System and special queue arrangements.

The Constitutional & Mainland Affairs Bureau noted that the success of the elections is of great significance and has laid down a solid foundation for the two upcoming important polls, the Legislative Council General Election in December and the Chief Executive Election in March.

It said there is room for improvement in the number of counters for issuing ballot papers and the counting arrangements which had resulted in some voters queueing up for an unduly long time during the peak hours. The time taken in counting votes was also beyond reasonable expectation.

The bureau added that it will follow up on the situation with the commission and the office, and take stock of the experience proactively to make improvements.