### Legislative Council Ordinance 《立法會條例》

61. Election may be questioned only by election petition made on specified grounds
(1) An election to return a Member may be questioned only on the following grounds—
(a) the ground that the person declared by the Returning Officer in accordance with regulations in force under the Electoral Affairs Commission Ordinance (Cap. 541) to have been elected as a Member at the election was not duly elected because—
(i) the person was ineligible to be, or was disqualified from being, a candidate at the election; or
(ii) corrupt or illegal conduct was engaged in by or in respect of that person at or in connection with the election; or (Amended 10 of 2000 s. 47)
(iii) corrupt or illegal conduct was generally prevalent at or in connection with the election; or (Amended 10 of 2000 s. 47)
(iv) material irregularity occurred in relation to the election, or to the polling or counting of votes at the election; or
(b) a ground specified in any other enactment that enables an election to be questioned.
(2) An election to return a Member may be questioned only by an election petition lodged under section 62.
(3) In this section—
corrupt or illegal conduct (舞弊或非法行為) means corrupt or illegal conduct in contravention of the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance (Cap. 554);

election (選舉)—
(a) is to be construed subject to section 3B; and
(b) subject to paragraph (a), includes nomination proceedings and the decisions of the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee, the Returning Officer or any Assistant Returning Officer. (Replaced 14 of 2021 s. 335)

62. Who may lodge election petition
(1) An election petition may be lodged, in the case of an election for a geographical constituency or functional constituency— (Amended 14 of 2021 s. 336)
(a) by 10 or more electors entitled to vote at the election; or
(b) by a person claiming to have been a candidate in the election.
(2) (Repealed 25 of 2003 s. 39)(3) An election petition may be lodged, in the case of an election for the Election Committee constituency—
(a) by 10 or more members of the Election Committee entitled to vote at the election; or
(b) by a person claiming to have been a candidate in the election. (Added 14 of 2021 s. 336)

### Legislative Council Ordinance 《立法會條例》

63. Who may be made respondent to election petition
(1) The following persons may be made a respondent to an election petition—
(a) a person whose election is questioned by the petition;
(b) the Returning Officer; and
(c) if grounds for the petition relate to a decision of the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee—the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee. (Replaced 14 of 2021 s. 337)
(2) Two or more candidates at an election may be made respondents to the same election petition and their cases may be tried at the same time, but for the purposes of this Part, and in relation to any order for giving security for costs, the petition is taken to be a separate election petition against each respondent.

64. Court to have jurisdiction to determine election petitions
(1) The Court has the same jurisdiction and the same functions in respect of an election petition as it has in respect of an ordinary cause of action within its jurisdiction.
(2) An election petition is triable in open court and, unless the Chief Justice otherwise directs, before one judge.
(3) The Chief Justice may make rules providing for giving effect to this Part and for regulating matters relating to the preparation, lodgement, service, trial and withdrawal of election petitions and costs in respect of those petitions (including the giving of security for costs), and the practice and procedure concerning the trial of those petitions.

65. Period within which election petition and appeal must be lodged
(Amended 18 of 2011 s. 8)(1) An election petition questioning an election may be lodged only during the period of 2 months following the date on which the Returning Officer has published the result of the election in the Gazette. (Amended 18 of 2011 s. 8)
(2) Despite section 24 of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance (Cap. 484), notice of a motion for the purpose of an application for leave to appeal to the Court of Final Appeal under section 22(1)(c) of that Ordinance must be filed within 14 working days after the date on which the written judgment of the Court to be appealed from is handed down, and the applicant must give the opposite party 3 days’ notice of his or her intended application at any time during the period of 14 working days. (Added 18 of 2011 s. 8)
(3) In subsection (2)—
working day (工作日) means any day other than—(a) a general holiday;
(b) a black rainstorm warning day as defined by section 71(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1); or
(c) a gale warning day as defined by that section. (Added 13 of 2021 s. 20)

### Legislative Council Ordinance 《立法會條例》

66. Court may direct security to be given for costs
(1) Within 5 days after lodging an election petition in the Court, or within such other period as the Court directs, the petitioner must give security for all costs that may become payable by the petitioner to any witness who gives evidence in the proceedings on the petitioner’s behalf or to any respondent.
(2) The amount of security to be given under this section is to be of such amount, not exceeding $20,000, as the Court directs. That amount is to be provided in such manner and form as the Court directs.
(3) An election petition is taken to have been withdrawn if this section is not complied with.

### Legislative Council Ordinance 《立法會條例》

67. Court to determine election petition
(1) At the end of the trial of an election petition that relates to an election that was not contested, the Court must determine whether any decision of the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee as to the validity of a nomination was correct and, if not correct, determine whether the person declared by the Returning Officer to have been elected in that election was or was not duly elected. (Amended 14 of 2021 s. 338)
(2) At the end of the trial of an election petition in relation to an election that was contested, the Court must determine whether the person whose election is questioned was or was not duly elected and, if not duly elected, determine whether some other person was duly elected instead.
(3) At the end of the trial of an election petition, the Court must announce its determination by means of a written judgment. (Amended 18 of 2011 s. 9)
(4) (Repealed 18 of 2011 s. 9)(5) The Court may, on its own initiative, provide the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, or the Electoral Affairs Commission or the Clerk to the Legislative Council with a report on any matter arising in the course of the trial of an election petition if in its opinion the matter should be reported. (Amended L.N. 130 of 2007)
(6) The Court must comply with any request made by the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs or the Electoral Affairs Commission to provide a report on any specified matter arising from the trial of an election petition. (Amended L.N. 130 of 2007)
(7) If, at the end of the trial of an election petition, it appears to the Court that a specified person may have engaged in corrupt or illegal conduct at or in connection with the election, the Court is required to provide the Director of Public Prosecutions with a report giving details of the conduct. (Added 10 of 2000 s. 47)

Editorial Note:
For the saving and transitional provisions relating to the amendments made by the Resolution of the Legislative Council (L.N. 130 of 2007), see paragraph (12) of that Resolution.