The Electoral Affairs Commission for the Chief Executive Election has passed a resolution proposing a budget of 32,453,200 patacas for coordinating procedures relating to the election of a new Chief Executive.

The budget proposal would be submitted to the Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, for approval, said today the Commission’s President, Ms Song Man Lei.

Ms Song noted that the proposed budget represented only a slight increase – of 120,000 patacas – compared with the budget for the 2014 Chief Executive election process. The adjustment took into consideration the increase in consumer prices over the intervening years.

Speaking to reporters, Ms Song explained that the Commission planned to operate fewer polling stations in this year’s poll to choose members of the Chief Executive Election Committee. This would reduce costs relating, respectively, to the renting of venues and the aggregate number of staff needed for the polling stations. She added that the Commission would use some of the materials from the 2014 election process, which would also help control spending.

Ms Song said the Commission planned to operate three polling venues – compared to the five used in 2014 – for selecting members of the Chief Executive Election Committee. The date for the Chief Executive Election Committee polling has been set for 16 June. The 400-member Chief Executive Election Committee will subsequently elect a new Chief Executive

The Commission hoped to make a final selection of the polling venues soon, once it completed assessment of factors such as: each site’s convenience regarding access for voters; the capacity of each facility; and the safety of each venue, Ms Song added.

When asked about a spending cap for each candidate campaigning for the Chief Executive position, Ms Song said the Chief Executive Election Law stated that such limit was set at 0.02 percent of the aggregate revenues of the General Budget of the Government for the relevant year.