IFES Election Guide - Election Profile for Hong Kong

Election Profile:

Overview

Results

Of Interest/Links

Sources

Country: Hong Kong
Official Name: Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Election Type: Legislative
Date: September 9, 2012

Source for election date

At stake in this election:

70 seats in the Legislative Council (LEGCO)

Description of government structure:

Chief of State: President of China HU Jintao
Head of Government: Chief Executive LEUNG Chun-ying
Assembly: Hong Kong has a unicameral Legislative Council (LEGCO) with 70 seats.

Description of electoral system:

The President of China is elected by indirect vote to serve a 5-year term.*
The Chief Executive is indirectly elected by an electoral college.
In the Legislative Council (LEGCO), 35 members are elected by plurality vote to serve 4-year terms and 35 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms.***

* The President of China is elected by indirect vote by an 800-member election committee to serve a 5-year term.

*** Hong Kong separates its tiers into what it calls Functional Constituencies (FCs) and Geographical Constituencies (GCs). All but two of the Functional Constituencies districts have a district magnitude of one. These are the FCs of Labour (3 seats) and District Council (second) with 5 seats. Rules vary for each functional constituency. 24 out of the 29 FCs elect one member through plurality vote in a single member district. Four FCs (Heung Yee Kuk, Agriculture and Fisheries, Insurance, and Transport) elect one MP through Alternative Vote. The District Council (second) FC uses closed-list PR to elect 4 MPs. Party list seats are allocated using the Hare quota.