Rural Representative Election - Rural By-election (27 April 2025)

Election Brief

Polling Arrangement

	Polling Day	Polling Time
	Polling Day	Ordinary Polling Station；and DPS situated in Mei Tin Community Hall	Dedicated Polling Station(s) (DPS) situated in a penal institution
Village Representative Election	27 April 2025	12:00-19:00	13:00-16:00

Voting System
The voting system adopted for the Rural Representative (RR) election, depending on the number of RR(s) to be returned, is the simple majority or relative majority system, commonly known as the “first past the post" voting system.

Nomination Period
Nomination period: 18 Macrh 2025 to 31 March 2025
Submission Time : from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday to Friday; from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, except general holidays
Please click here to download the nomination forms. Forms can also be obtained free of charge at the following offices:

Home Affairs Department (30/F, Southorn Centre, 130 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong)
New Territories District Offices

Eligibility Requirements for Nomination

A person will only be eligible to be nominated as a candidate in the Indigenous Inhabitant Representative By-election or the Resident Representative By-election if he/she meets the following requirements (a person is only allowed to stand as a candidate in one Rural Area*):
an indigenous inhabitant of the Indigenous / Composite Indigenous Village; elector for the Indigenous or Composite Indigenous Village; aged 21 or above; a Hong Kong permanent resident ; ordinarily resides in Hong Kong; nominated by at least five registered electors from that Village; not be disqualified from voting at the election by virtue of section 14 of the Rural Representative Election Ordinance (Cap. 576); and not be disqualified from being nominated as a candidate at the election, or from being elected as an IIR for the Indigenous or Composite Indigenous Village by virtue of section 23 of the Rural Representative Election Ordinance (Cap. 576) or any other law.	elector for the Existing Village; aged 21 or above; a Hong Kong permanent resident; a resident of the Village for the 6 years immediately preceding the nomination; nominated by at least five registered electors from that Existing Village; not be disqualified from voting at the election by virtue of section 14 of the Rural Representative Election Ordinance (Cap. 576); and not be disqualified from being nominated as a candidate at the election, or from being elected as a ReR for the Existing Village by virtue of section 23 of the Rural Representative Election Ordinance (Cap. 576) or any other law.

A person will only be eligible to be nominated as a candidate in the Indigenous Inhabitant Representative By-election or the Resident Representative By-election if he/she meets the following requirements (a person is only allowed to stand as a candidate in one Rural Area*):

Eligibility Requirements for Nomination in Indigenous Inhabitant Representative By-election (IIR)

Eligibility Requirements for Nomination in Resident Representative By-election (ReR)

an indigenous inhabitant of the Indigenous / Composite Indigenous Village;
elector for the Indigenous or Composite Indigenous Village;
aged 21 or above;
a Hong Kong permanent resident ;
ordinarily resides in Hong Kong;
nominated by at least five registered electors from that Village;
not be disqualified from voting at the election by virtue of section 14 of the Rural Representative Election Ordinance (Cap. 576); and
not be disqualified from being nominated as a candidate at the election, or from being elected as an IIR for the Indigenous or Composite Indigenous Village by virtue of section 23 of the Rural Representative Election Ordinance (Cap. 576) or any other law.

elector for the Existing Village;
aged 21 or above;
a Hong Kong permanent resident;
a resident of the Village for the 6 years immediately preceding the nomination;
nominated by at least five registered electors from that Existing Village;
not be disqualified from voting at the election by virtue of section 14 of the Rural Representative Election Ordinance (Cap. 576); and
not be disqualified from being nominated as a candidate at the election, or from being elected as a ReR for the Existing Village by virtue of section 23 of the Rural Representative Election Ordinance (Cap. 576) or any other law.

*Rural Area means an Existing Village, an Indigenous Village or a Composite Indigenous Village

Who Can Vote

Only the registered individual and corporate electors whose names have been included in the 2024 Final Register of Electors are eligible to cast their votes in the election, and the relevant registers will be published on 18 October 2024.
If a registered elector for EV no longer resides in the Village for which he/she is registered, or his/her residential address in the Village is no longer his/her sole or main home, he/she is no longer eligible to remain registered as an elector. Even though his/her name is still on the Final Register (“FR”), the person will commit an offence if he/she votes at the election.

Contact Methods
Contact Methods of Returning Officer(s) and Assistant Returning Officer(s) of Different Districts

Introduction on voting procedures
Indigenous Inhabitant Representative and Resident Representative By-election (To be Announced Later)

Document(s) Required for Collecting Ballot Paper(s)
Indigenous Inhabitant Representative By-election (To be Announced Later)
Resident Representative By-election (To be Announced Later)

Samples of Ballot Papers

	Indigenous Inhabitant Representative Election	Resident Representative Election
Samples of Clearly Valid and Invalid Ballot Papers	(PDF Form)	(PDF Form)
Samples of Questionable Ballot Papers	(PDF Form)	(PDF Form)

Ordinary Elections and By-elections

Election Brief