The counting of votes in the 2025 Election Committee Subsector By-elections will proceed even as Tropical Storm Tapah moved closer to the city, the Electoral Affairs Commission said on Sunday afternoon.

The EAC said in a statement that the vote count will proceed after polling stations closed at 6 pm although the Hong Kong Observatory had announced that it will consider issuing the No. 8 Gale or Storm Signal on Sunday night.

The decision was reached after Chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission Justice David Lok Kai-hong headed a second meeting of the crisis management committee, which was briefed by relevant government departments on their assessments and contingency measures.  

“Taking into account all relevant factors and the CMC's advice, the EAC said that the poll of the ECSS By-elections will continue until 6pm and the count will proceed as scheduled,” the statement reads.

It added that the EAC and the Registration and Electoral Office will maintain close communication with the related bureaus, closely monitor the overall situation, and provide support services to ensure the smooth conduct of the by-elections.

Twenty-eight candidates are contesting a total of 21 seats spanning six subsectors in today’s by-elections, which had 3,631 voters or authorized representatives.

Five ordinary polling stations at the Exhibition Gallery of the Hong Kong Central Library, Kowloon Park Sports Centre, Wai Tsuen Sports Centre, Tiu Keng Leng Sports Centre and Che Kung Temple Sports Centre and one dedicated polling station at Happy Valley Police Station were opened from 9 am to 6 pm for voters.

As of 5 pm, turnout had reached 96.67 percent after 3,510 voters cast their ballots, according to a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government statement.

The six contested subsectors are commercial (third); architectural, surveying, planning and landscape; technology and innovation; labour; representatives of members of Area Committees, District Fight Crime Committees, and District Fire Safety Committees of Hong Kong and Kowloon; and representatives of members of Area Committees, District Fight Crime Committees, and District Fire Safety Committees of the New Territories.

After the voting ends, all ballot boxes will be delivered to the central counting station (CCS) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre for counting.

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Candidates, election agents and counting agents may enter the CCS and observe the count at designated areas of the counting zone. Members of the public and media may also enter the public area of the CCS to observe the count.

Once the counting of votes is completed, the election results will be declared by the Returning Officers to the candidates and their agents at the counting zone. The election results of each subsector will be announced again by the Returning Officers on the stage of the media center later.