The Candidate Eligibility Review Committee (CERC) declared by notice in the Gazette today the names of the seven Election Committee (EC) ex-officio members who were determined to be validly registered.

In accordance with the Chief Executive Election Ordinance, the holder of a specified office under the ordinance may register as an EC ex-officio member. The seven EC ex-officio membership registrations had arisen from changes in the post holder of the specified offices, where the new post holders had submitted fresh applications for registration.

The seven offices involved are the office designated by Roman Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong, the Supplementary Medical Professions Council Chairman, the Pharmacy & Poisons Board Chairman, the Auxiliary Medical Service Commissioner, the Community Involvement Committee on Greening Chairman, the Consulting Engineers' Committee Chairman and the Building Contractors Committee Chairman.

The CERC is chaired by Chief Secretary John Lee, with three official members and three non-official members.

Pursuant to the Basic Law, the CERC is responsible for reviewing and confirming the eligibility of candidates for EC membership, and determining whether a candidate complies with the legal requirements and conditions for upholding the Basic Law and bearing allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.