Police officers patrol outside the main polling station for the 2022 Chief Executive Election at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai, May 8, 2022. (EDMOND TANG / CHINA DAILY)

HONG KONG - The election of the sixth-term chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region was held on Sunday, the third major election since the improvement to the HKSAR's electoral system.

On March 11, 2021, a decision on improving the electoral system of the HKSAR was adopted by an overwhelming majority vote at the fourth session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC).

On March 30, the amended Annex I and Annex II to the Basic Law of the HKSAR were passed unanimously at the closing meeting of the 27th session of the Standing Committee of the 13th NPC, which came into force on March 31.

The term of office of the chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be five years, and he or she may serve for not more than two consecutive terms, as per the Basic Law

On May 27, the Improving Electoral System (Consolidated Amendments) Bill 2021 was approved in its third reading by the Legislative Council (LegCo) of China's HKSAR, marking the smooth completion of the improvement of HKSAR's electoral system.

The Election Committee's subsector ordinary elections and the seventh-term LegCo election in China's HKSAR, the first and second important elections under the new electoral system, were successfully held in September and December 2021, respectively.

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According to the new electoral system, the Election Committee, expanded to 1,500 members of five sectors, is responsible for nominating candidates for the Chief Executive election, electing the chief executive, nominating candidates for the LegCo election, and electing part of the LegCo members.

The nomination period for the HKSAR's sixth-term chief executive election was from April 3 to April 16, 2022.

Hong Kong chief executive candidate John Lee Ka-chiu arrives at the main polling station for the 2022 Chief Executive Election at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai, May 8, 2022. (CALVIN NG/ CHINA DAILY)

The returning officer received one nomination form during the nomination period, which was submitted by John Lee Ka-chiu, former chief secretary for administration of the HKSAR government.

Lee formally submitted a bid for the election of the HKSAR's sixth-term chief executive on April 13.

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On April 18, the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee of the HKSAR published a notice in the Gazette to declare the nomination of Lee for the HKSAR's sixth-term chief executive election as valid after reviewing the candidate's eligibility.

According to the notice, Lee won 786 valid nominations from the Election Committee members.

On Sunday, a main polling station was set up at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center for the Election Committee members to cast their votes.

The polling hours are from 9:00 am local time to 11:30 am local time on Sunday.

The chief executive candidate must obtain more than 750 valid votes to win the election.

The HKSAR chief executive shall be elected by the Election Committee and appointed by the central government.

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The term of office of the HKSAR's sixth-term chief executive is from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2027.

According to the Basic Law of the HKSAR, the chief executive of the HKSAR shall be the head of the HKSAR, represent the HKSAR, and be accountable to the central government and the HKSAR in accordance with the provisions of this law.

The term of office of the chief executive of the HKSAR shall be five years, and he or she may serve for not more than two consecutive terms, as per the Basic Law.

Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor is the current chief executive of the HKSAR. Former chief executives of the HKSAR were Tung Chee-hwa, Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and Leung Chun-ying.