The Chief Executive Election (Amendment) (Term of Office of the Chief Executive) Bill was submitted to the Hong Kong Legislative Council (LegCo) on Wednesday for the first and second readings.

Hong Kong Secretary for Constitutional Affairs Stephen Lam said at the Legislative Council that the purpose of amending the bill is to provide that the term of a new Chief Executive (CE) elected pursuant to Article 53(2) of the Basic Law shall be the remainder of the term of the preceding CE.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government's position that the new CE shall serve the remainder of the term of the preceding CE is based on a thorough understanding of the provisions of the Basic Law and the legislative intent, he said.

He said the office of the CE became vacant since March 12, 2005. Pursuant to Article 53 of the Basic Law, a new CE shall be selected within six months. In accordance with the relevant provisions of the Chief Executive Election Ordinance ("CEEO"), the election of the new CE shall be held on July 10, 2005.

The HKSAR government shall make the necessary electoral arrangements in accordance with the relevant provisions of the CEEO and related subsidiary legislation to ensure that the election is conducted in a fair and open manner.

He explained the main justifications for the position taken by the Administration. He said Article 45 of the Basic Law refers to Annex I, which prescribes the specific method for selecting the CE.

He said Annex I to the Basic Law stipulates that the CE shall be elected by an 800-member Election Committee (EC). The duty of the current EC is to elect the second term CE, whose term of office runs from 2002 to 2007.

Lam said Article 7 of Annex I also stipulates that if there is a need to amend the method for selecting the CE for the terms subsequent to the year 2007, such amendments must be made with the agreement of a two-thirds majority of all the members of the LegCo, the CE and the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC).

He added that the Decision of the NPC Standing Committee on April 26 last year specifically affirmed that the election of the CE to be held in 2007 is the election of the CE for the third term. According to the Administration's proposal, the new CE election will fill the office left vacant by the CE for the second term. It is not an election of the CE for the third term.

Lam said, when Article 53(2) of the Basic Law was first drafted, the wording "new CE" was used. This demonstrates that Article 53(2)does not provide for a new term to commence afresh.

Editor: Olivia