By the close of the two-week nomination period yesterday, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Registration and Electoral Office had received 109 nominations for the 2004 Legislative Council (LegCo) election.

On the final day, six more nominations were received for five geographical constituencies (GC) and six for four functional constituencies (FC).

The Registration and Electoral Office has received a total of 37 tickets running for the LegCo GC elections; and 72 candidates have signed up for FC elections. Eleven of them are uncontested.

One of the nominations submitted on the final day was that of former radio talk-show host Albert Cheng, who finally decided to compete in Kowloon East. Speculation had been running high about his possible candidacy.

New Territories (NT) West is the most chaotic geographical constituency, with a total of 13 tickets vying for the eight seats.

The likely winner of the eighth seat is anyone's guess, but the decision will most likely be made by the number of surplus votes under the current electoral system.

For FC elections, the tension in the accountancy constituency is unprecedented as there are nine candidates, including both veteran and young accountants, competing for one place.

The architectural, surveying and planning constituency is also hotly contested, with six candidates vying for just one seat.

Keen competition will also occur in the financial services constituency, with five candidates. The winning margins are expected to be very narrow since there are only 644 voters in this constituency.

James Sung, principal lecturer in the School of Continuing and Professional Education at City University of Hong Kong, said political parties have become more mature in this year's elections than they were in the 2000 elections.

He said the "pan-democratic" camp has employed a coordinated strategy to decide the final list of candidates.

Chen Zuo'er, deputy director of Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, said on Wednesday that the LegCo election in September will be a democratic one that tallies with Hong Kong's constitutional development.

(China Daily August 5, 2004)