At stake in this election:

• 70 seats in the Legislative Council (LEGCO)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President of China HU Jintao
• Head of Government: Chief Executive LEUNG Chun-ying
• Assembly: Hong Kong has a unicameral Legislative Council (LEGCO) with 70 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President of China is elected by indirect vote to serve a 5-year term.*
• The Chief Executive is indirectly elected by an electoral college.
• In the Legislative Council (LEGCO), 35 members are elected by plurality vote to serve 4-year terms and 35 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms.***

* The President of China is elected by indirect vote by an 800-member election committee to serve a 5-year term.

*** Hong Kong separates its tiers into what it calls Functional Constituencies (FCs) and Geographical Constituencies (GCs). All but two of the Functional Constituencies districts have a district magnitude of one. These are the FCs of Labour (3 seats) and District Council (second) with 5 seats. Rules vary for each functional constituency. 24 out of the 29 FCs elect one member through plurality vote in a single member district. Four FCs (Heung Yee Kuk, Agriculture and Fisheries, Insurance, and Transport) elect one MP through Alternative Vote. The District Council (second) FC uses closed-list PR to elect 4 MPs. Party list seats are allocated using the Hare quota.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong / 民主建港協進聯盟*
  • Leader: TAM Yiu-chung
  • Seats won in last election: 10
• Party: Democratic Party / 民主黨
  • Leader: Albert HO Chun-yan
  • Seats won in last election: 8
• Party: Civic Party / 公民黨
  • Leader: Kenneth CHAN
  • Seats won in last election: 5
• Party: Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (HKFTU) / 香港工會聯合會
  • Leader: CHENG Yiu-tong
  • Seats won in last election: 4
• Party: Liberal Party / 自由党
  • Leader: Miriam LAU
  • Seats won in last election: 7
• Party: Labour Party / 工黨
  • Leader: LEE Cheuk-yan
  • Seats won in last election: N/A

* Previously known as the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 7,154,600 (2012)
• Registered Voters: 3,474,542 (September 2012 Approx.)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 3,802,312 (2012)

·         Is Hong Kong a signatory to CEDAW: N/A

·         Has Hong Kong ratified CEDAW: N/A

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 11 (following the 2012 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 12 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

·         Is Hong Kong a signatory to CRPD: N/A

·         Has Hong Kong ratified CRPD: N/A

·         Population with a disability: 1,073,190 (est.)