Hong Kong Chief Executive Election and Legislative Council Election (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2006 was passed by the Legislative Council Wednesday.

"The Bill helps ensure the smooth conduct of the 2007 Chief Executive (CE) election," a government spokesman said.

He said that the Bill mainly sought to address the legal issues identified in the Fifth Report of the Constitutional Development Task Force, and to provide for the electoral arrangement in the event that only one CE candidate is validly nominated.

The Bill provides that if an election for a new term CE will be held within six months after a vacancy in the office of the CE has arisen, it will not be necessary to hold a by-election, he said.

The Bill also provides that the term of office of the Election Committee (EC) will commence on February 1 in the year during which the term of office of the CE expires; and that a new CE returned in a by-election may only serve for one more term after expiry of the remainder term, and that the remaining term is regarded as one term, the spokesman said.

Further, the Bill proposes that if only one CE candidate is validly nominated, election proceedings shall continue, the spokesman added.

Source: Xinhua