The Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Thursday strongly condemned the disruptive acts during a briefing session for candidates of the 2019 District Council Ordinary Election.
The EAC Chairman Justice Barnabas Fung Wah planned to brief candidates of the 2019 District Council Ordinary Election on the electoral arrangements and important points to note when conducting electioneering activities at a briefing session on Thursday night.
The purpose of the session is to brief the candidates on important parts of the electoral guidelines to ensure that the election will be conducted in an open, fair and honest manner, the EAC said in a statement.
However, some people shouted and threw objects at the speakers, seriously disrupting the order of the event and leading it to be canceled. The EAC expressed deep regret and strongly condemned the disruptive acts of those people, the statement said.
It added that while the EAC respects the freedom of expression, participants of the briefing are expected to observe the rules of the venue and not to cause nuisance to the participants or obstruct the conduct of the briefing.
"The District Council Ordinary Election to be held on Nov. 24 is an important platform for over 4.13 million registered electors to exercise their right to elect their representatives. We do not accept any threats or violence in the election," said the spokesman for the EAC.
"The District Council Ordinary Election, held every four years, involves a huge amount of financial and human resources from planning to the polling day. The preparatory work is interrelated," the spokesman said.
"We call upon the community to make the best efforts to ensure that the election can proceed in a peaceful and safe manner, and electors can access polling stations to cast their votes in a peaceful and safe environment on the polling day," he said.
"If anyone is not satisfied with the electoral arrangements, they can make complaints or make election petitions through judicial proceedings to resolve the disputes," he added.
