The Legislative Assembly Election Commission today issued a new guideline to ban the use of cellular phones, pagers, walkie-talkies and all telecommunication and photography devices in polling stations. Speaking after a meeting today, Commission Chairman, Judge Fong Man Chong, said the ban was the to protect the secrecy of the ballot. He called on candidates and assistants to run for the seats by strictly abiding by the electoral law and relevant regulations. In accordance with the newly published 6/CEAL/2005 guideline, offenders would violate Article 312 of the Penal Code and face a maximum penalty of one-year imprisonment. Judge Fong said the Commission had formulated a complete plan to protect the secrecy of ballots, which included removing the curtains of the polling booths to enable staff to monitor the process and not reveal the total number of eligible voters of each polling station. The Commission also issued a guideline, 7/CEAL/2005, to regulate the candidate's income and expenditure related to the election. The Commission held a meeting with representatives from Lands, Public Works and Transport Bureau and Public Security Police to discuss measures to keep the traffic smoothly on Election Day, 25 September 2005. Detailed arrangements will be announced later.
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