Hong Kong to hold Legislative Council election on September 6

China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) will hold the general election for the seventh-term Legislative Council (LegCo) on September 6, a spokesperson of the HKSAR government said on Wednesday.

The spokesperson said the decision was made after the chief executive had taken into consideration the relevant statutory provisions concerning the determination of a general election date, the nomination period preceding an election, and the practice adopted in the past public elections.

In light of the polling date, the nomination period for the 2020 LegCo General Election is scheduled for July 18 to 31 this year. To ensure that all candidates will compete on a level playing field, the HKSAR chief executive appointed July 18 as the date from which the sixth-term LegCo shall stand prorogued and its operation shall then be terminated, the spokesperson said.

The dates of polling of the LegCo general election and prorogation of the LegCo will be published in the Gazette on June 12, the spokesperson said.

According to a document on the arrangements for the 2020 LegCo general election submitted to the LegCo by the HKSAR government, the 2020 Final Register is planned to be published before July 25. The Registration and Electoral Office will set up more than 610 ordinary polling stations for the election. About 31,000 electoral staff will be recruited and trained for carrying out polling and counting duties on the polling day.