雙語社評齊齊聽

英語 (足本收聽)

普通話 (足本收聽)

【明報專訊】A LOT OF situations arose in the recent Legislative Council elections, some of which have led to doubts about the legitimacy and impartiality of the election results. The Electoral Affairs Commission, in compliance with the related regulations, is now required to submit a report to the Chief Executive within three months of the conclusion of the elections.

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立法會選舉安排，狀况頻仍，一些事態使選舉結果的合法性與公正性受到質疑，按規定選舉管理委員會須於選舉結束3個月內向特首提交報告。

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The conduct of the elections was beset with many problems. The first was about the verification of voters' identities and the handing out of ballots, as someone alleged that he had been able to have his identity verified and collect his ballot by producing a copy of his identity card. At first the authorities were equivocal about the matter. After someone from a political party confirmed the allegation in person, the authorities made a clarification: no one can collect his ballot with a copy of his identity card. But they stopped short of explaining why some officers had allowed voters to do so. Second, at the polling stations, some voters found that others had voted on their behalves and that their names on their registers of electors had been crossed out. It is not reasonable to suggest that someone would try to vote twice by playing dumb. Then what really happened? Did someone make a mistake? Did someone do so harbouring some sorts of intentions? The authorities did not offer an answer. Third, a voter found a tick beside the information about candidates on his ballot. To ensure that his vote would not be invalidated, he demanded a new ballot, which was approved by the officers. That was no isolated case. When another voter, who works in the media, tried to vote, he found that a tick had already been stamped in the place where voters indicate their choice. Fourth, at two polling stations at Tai Po and Tseung Kwan O, the votes counted exceeded the number of voters by around 300. It remains unknown what caused the discrepancies.

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今次選舉，整個流程出現不少問題。首先由確認身分、領取選票開始，有人以身分證副本亦可獲工作人員確認並領取選票，當局起初對此含糊其事，在政黨人士親身試驗並透過傳媒公示之後，當局才澄清以身分證副本不能領票，不過為何有工作人員竟然這樣做，卻沒有解釋。其次是有選民到票站之後發現「被投票」，工作人員的選民資料顯示其名字被劃線，顯示選票已被領取；按常理，選民「博大霧」重複投票的可能性甚微，然則就是有人犯錯或有其他目的，實情為何，當局沒有交代。第三，有選民領取選票之後，發現介紹候選人的資料上蓋了剔號，為免成為廢票，涉事選民要求更換，獲得工作人員准許；這種情况並非個別事件，有傳媒人士投票時，亦發現選票上候選人的蓋印位置已蓋上了剔號。第四，大埔和將軍澳有兩個票站，都發現選票數量較投票人數多出約300票，究竟是什麼原因，迄今未知。

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But the most outrageous is the lack of organisation at polling stations. Many voters chose to cast their votes at dusk or dinner time. But the officers failed to make special arrangements accordingly, and, as a result, voters at Taikoo Shing had to wait in a queue for four to five hours before they could cast their votes. This is unacceptable. The mess at Taikoo Shing was absolutely preposterous. The chief of the Electoral Affairs Commission, however, played down the significance of what had happened by saying that while 370,000 people had voted on Hong Kong Island, there were only 5,000 to 6,000 voters at Taikoo Shing, who in no circumstances could be so crucial as to affect the fairness of the elections. We are convinced that the electoral arrangements should embody absolute legitimacy and impartiality. If relative legitimacy and impartiality were accepted, it would be possible for someone to act arbitrarily, break the law or commit fraud.

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今次選舉最離譜的是票站安排混亂。投票日黃昏和晚飯時間，較多選民到票站投票，工作人員未有臨時調動，致使當晚太古城票站選民排隊4、5小時，才得以進入票站完成投票，情况不能接受。太古城票站亂局可以荒謬透頂來形容，不過主事人說得輕描淡寫，表示港島區約有37萬人投票，其中太古城只有5000至6000人投票，就算有任何情况都並非關鍵，不足以影響選舉公平性，云云。選舉安排須體現的合法與公正，理應是絕對要求，設若認為相對合法公正就可以接受，則便宜行事而衍生的弊端，包括犯法作弊等都有可能發生。

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The inflexibility on the part of the authorities in charge of electoral affairs and the lack of efficiency in the way they organise elections have rarely been dealt with over the years. Some members of society once suggested the introduction of computers to speed up voting procedures. The suggestion, however, has never been dealt with seriously. The use of computers in voting involves issues like security, so it is difficult to fully computerise the voting experience. But some parts of the procedures can be enhanced with the help of computers. Many voters have had the experience of staying in the queue in busy hours waiting to get their identities verified, when officers were combing through the registers of electors and crossing out names with pens. All this is performed manually at present, which is time-consuming. If this is handled by computers, the verification procedures can be sped up. Time will be saved and ballots will be cast with enhanced efficiency. This will shorten the time voters have to stay at polling stations.

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選舉當局取態僵化，安排缺乏效率，歷來鮮見改進；社會人士曾經提出引入電腦，加快處理投票流程，未見認真研議。選民透過電腦投票，涉及保安等問題，或許難以全盤電腦化，不過一些環節應該可以借助電腦處理。不少人在投票時都有體驗，就是在人數較多時段，確認選民身分須排隊，工作人員翻閱選民登記冊時以筆劃註銷，全部由人手操作，所費需時。這個程序交由電腦處理，可加快確認流程，節省出來的空間就可增加投票效率，縮短選民在投票站停留的時間。

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明報社評2016.09.08

Presented by lecturers of Hong Kong Community College, PolyU and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

William Tsang
Associate Division Head, HKCC
www.hkcc-polyu.edu.hk/staff_directory/language_communication/TSANG,_William_Wai-sum-75.html

邱蔚
助理講師
www.hkcc-polyu.edu.hk/staff_directory/language_communication/QIU,_Tina_Wei-367.html

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