Following are the voter turnout figures for the 2019 District Council Ordinary Election as at 2.30pm today (November 24):

                                                    Aggregate Aggregate
                                                    Voter        Turnout
District                      Electorate     Turnout     Rate (%)
——–                      ———-     ———      ——–

Hong Kong Island
———————

Central and Western   110,483        46,021      41.65%

Wan Chai                     74,839         32,409      43.30%

Eastern                       323,725       139,042     42.95%

Southern                     151,994        64,677      42.55%

Kowloon
———————

Yau Tsim Mong            129,150        55,805      43.21%

Sham Shui Po             204,046        87,312      42.79%

Kowloon City               201,858        90,162      44.67%

Wong Tai Sin               264,040       104,971     39.76%

Kwun Tong                  396,345       159,934     40.35%

New Territories
———————

Tsuen Wan                  169,773        75,786      44.64%

Tuen Mun                    296,282       125,902     42.49%

Yuen Long                   349,322       138,429     39.63%

North                          186,496        78,430      42.05%

Tai Po                         187,494        83,262      44.41%

Sai Kung                     274,293       117,891     42.98%

Sha Tin                       419,853       187,610     44.68%

Kwai Tsing                  308,771       127,176     41.19%

Islands                         84,213         31,890      37.87%

————————————————————-
Total                         4,132,977    1,746,709    42.26%

     The voter turnout figures are for temporary reference only.

Attention duty announcers, radio and TV stations:

     Please broadcast the following special announcement immediately, and repeat it at frequent intervals:

     "The Social Welfare Department (SWD) reminded members of the public that they may take their children or family members to child care centres, centres providing after school care programmes, elderly services centres or day rehabilitation units including sheltered workshops, integrated vocational rehabilitation services centres and day activity centres as usual tomorrow (November 25). As the road and traffic conditions have not fully recovered, the SWD reminded members of the public to pay attention to traffic news before leaving home."

     Following are the voter turnout figures for the 2019 District Council Ordinary Election as at 1.30pm today (November 24):

                                                    Aggregate Aggregate
                                                    Voter        Turnout
District                      Electorate     Turnout     Rate (%)
——–                      ———-     ———      ——–

Hong Kong Island
———————

Central and Western   110,483        40,115      36.31%

Wan Chai                     74,839         28,272      37.78%

Eastern                       323,725       121,246     37.45%

Southern                     151,994        56,682      37.29%

Kowloon
———————

Yau Tsim Mong            129,150        48,608      37.64%

Sham Shui Po             204,046        76,496      37.49%

Kowloon City               201,858        79,243      39.26%

Wong Tai Sin               264,040        91,331      34.59%

Kwun Tong                  396,345       137,975     34.81%

New Territories
———————

Tsuen Wan                  169,773        65,949      38.85%

Tuen Mun                    296,282       110,134     37.17%

Yuen Long                   349,322       119,204     34.12%

North                          186,496        68,845      36.92%

Tai Po                         187,494        73,292      39.09%

Sai Kung                     274,293       103,255     37.64%

Sha Tin                       419,853       164,948     39.29%

Kwai Tsing                  308,771       110,883     35.91%

Islands                         84,213         28,197      33.48%

————————————————————-
Total                         4,132,977    1,524,675    36.89%

     The voter turnout figures are for temporary reference only.

     The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau, will leave Hong Kong tomorrow (November 25) to lead a 52-strong delegation, comprising businesses, professionals and start-ups to visit Malaysia and Thailand to promote Hong Kong's strengths on various fronts in the pursuit of the Belt and Road Initiative. The opportunity will be taken to foster stronger trade and economic ties and explore new business opportunities.

     The delegation consists of entrepreneurs and professionals from a wide range of sectors, demonstrating Hong Kong's comprehensive and competitive edges. They include accounting, finance, insurance, real estate and infrastructure development, legal and dispute resolution, transport and logistics, energy and environmental services, manufacturing, technology and telecommunications, cultural and creative industries and start-ups.

     Mr Yau said Malaysia and Thailand are both close partners of Hong Kong in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The forthcoming mission is another step to reinforce the city's relationship with these two fast-growing ASEAN countries after the inking of the Hong Kong-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement in 2017 and the opening of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Bangkok in this February.

     The delegation will first visit Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia from November 25 to 26, to be followed by a visit to Bangkok, Thailand from November 27 to 29. Apart from meeting local government officials, business leaders and chambers of commerce, the delegates will pay visits to leading companies and the Mainland's overseas Economic and Trade Co-operation Zones there to understand the latest developments at the two places. Business matching opportunities will be staged to promote partnership and seek co-operation opportunities.

     The delegates will also attend business seminars cum networking luncheons in Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok to establish connections with the business community there. Mr Yau will give keynote speeches on both occasions.

     During the visit, Mr Yau will call on the Chinese Ambassadors to Malaysia and Thailand to keep them abreast of the latest developments in Hong Kong.

     Mr Yau will return to Hong Kong on the evening of November 29. The Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Dr Bernard Chan, will be the Acting Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development during Mr Yau's absence.

The following is issued on behalf of the Electoral Affairs Commission:

     The Chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission, Mr Justice Barnabas Fung Wah, called on registered electors to cast their votes in the District Council Ordinary Election today (November 24).

     "Queues have been formed in a number of polling stations this morning, because electors cast their votes at approximately the same time. We appealed electors to wait patiently and orderly. Polling staff will serve electors as soon as possible," Mr Justice Fung said after visiting the polling station at Ma Tau Chung Government Primary School Hung Hom Bay this morning.

     "Voting is very simple. I encourage electors to exercise their civic rights and fulfil their civil responsibilities. Electors must bring the original of their Hong Kong identity card or other specified alternative documents to the designated polling station to collect their ballot papers to cast votes. Electors must use the chop provided by the polling stations to stamp the ballot paper with a tick in the circle opposite the name of the chosen candidate, and fold the ballot paper inward in half before putting it into the ballot box," he said.

     Mr Justice Fung said that poll card is not needed for collecting ballot papers, but electors are reminded to note the address of the designated polling station on their poll card to ensure that they visit the correct polling station. They may only vote at the designated polling station allocated to them.

     "Only registered electors on the 2019 final registers of electors are eligible to vote on the polling day. If electors did not receive the poll card and are unsure whether they are a registered elector on the registers of electors, they should, before departing for voting, log in to the Online Voter Information Enquiry System (www.voterinfo.gov.hk) to check whether they are a registered elector and where to vote, or call the election hotline 2891 1001 for enquiries," he said.

     A total of 1 090 candidates will run for 452 seats today. Over 610 ordinary polling stations and 23 dedicated polling stations are open today for over 4.13 million registered electors to cast their votes.

     The ordinary polling stations and the three dedicated polling stations set up at police stations are open to electors from 7.30am to 10.30pm. For security reasons, the 20 dedicated polling stations set up in penal institutions will open from 9am to 4pm.

     As at 10.30am, 720 455 electors have voted, bringing the accumulative turnout rate to 17.43 per cent.

     Mr Justice Fung and Commission members Mr Arthur Luk, SC, and Professor Fanny Cheung inspect various polling stations across Hong Kong today to see for themselves how electoral activities are being conducted.

     The election hotline at 2891 1001 will be in service until 11pm to answer enquiries relating to the election.

     A complaints hotline at 2827 7251 will operate until 11pm to handle complaints about breaches of electoral rules and guidelines.

     Hourly voter turnouts and election results will be available on the election website (www.elections.gov.hk).