In Hong Kong, geographical constituencies, as opposed to functional constituencies, are elected by all eligible voters according to geographically demarcated constituencies. There are currently 5 geographical constituencies in Hong Kong, returning 35 members to the Legislative Council.Cap 542 s18 Establishment of geographical constituencies Legislative Council Ordinance Following the 2021 electoral reforms passed by the Standing Committee of the mainland National People's Congress, the number of members returned by geographical constituencies would be lowered to 20, while the total number of seats in the Legislative Council would be increased to 90.
History Geographical constituencies (GC) were first introduced in Hong Kong's first legislative election with direct elections in 1991. 18 constituencies, each returning 2 members using plurality block voting was created for the 1991 election. Under Chris Patten's electoral reform, single-member constituencies were introduced for geographical constituencies in the 1995 election. After the transfer of sovereignty in 1997, the Provisional Legislative Council enacted the Legislative Council Ordinance (Cap. 542) which stipulated the use of party-list proportional representation with seats apportioned by the largest remainder method under the Hare Quota. Between 1998 and 2016, 5 geographical constituencies were established returned by proportional representation with 3-9 seats each: 199820002004200820122016 Hong Kong Island 4 56 7 6 Kowloon West 345 6 Kowloon East 3 4 5 45 New Territories West 5 689 New Territories East 579 Total no. of GC seats 20 243035
In 2010, the Government's motion for amending Annex II of the Basic Law was passed. As a result, 5 new seats were added to Geographical Constituencies, making a total of 35.
Changes to electoral system The following table summarises the changes to the electoral system of Geographical Constituencies since 1991: Election YearVoting system Number of constituenciesDistrict magnitudeTotal number of GC seatsProportion of LegCo seats1991Plurality-at-large9 constituencies2 seats 18 seats29.5%1995First-past-the-post voting 20 constituencies1 seat 20 seats33.3%1998Proportional representation (Largest remainder method: Hare quota)5 constituencies3-9 seats20 seats33.3%200024 seats40%200430 seats50%2008201235 seats50%20162021Single non-transferable vote 10 constituencies2 seats20 seats22.2%
Changes to districting The following table charts the evolution of districting of geographical constituencies of the LegCo: 199119951998200020042008201220162021GCsHong Kong Island EastHong Kong Island Central Hong Kong Island (LC1)Hong Kong Island EastHong Kong Island East Hong Kong Island South Hong Kong Island WestHong Kong Island WestHong Kong Island WestKowloon EastKowloon EastKowloon East (LC3)Kowloon EastKowloon South-east Kowloon CentralKowloon North-east Kowloon CentralKowloon CentralKowloon West (LC2)Kowloon SouthKowloon South-west Kowloon WestKowloon WestKowloon WestNew Territories EastNew Territories East New Territories East (LC5)New Territories South EastNew Territories North EastNew Territories South-east New Territories NorthNew Territories North-east New Territories North New Territories NorthNew Territories SouthNew Territories West (LC4)New Territories North-west New Territories North WestNew Territories WestNew Territories Central New Territories West New Territories SouthNew Territories South WestNew Territories South-west
2021 electoral reform 20 seats of the Legislative Council are returned by geographical constituencies (GC) through single non-transferable vote with a district magnitude of 2 ("binomial system"). The binomial system was instituted by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in its amendment to Annex 2 of the Basic Law on 30 March 2021.
The proportional representation system used between 1998 and 2016 was scrapped. The reduction of the number of members returned by geographic constituencies has been described as "significantly curbing democratic representation in Hong Kong's institutions". These changes have been described as a shift in power away from Hong Kong's urban core and towards the outer, less densely populated regions closer to mainland China, where pro-Beijing candidates tend to fare better.
10 geographical constituencies were established for the 2021 election: Geographical constituencyNumber of votersNumber of seatsVoting systemHong Kong Island East424,8492Single non-transferable voteHong Kong Island West374,795Kowloon East475,223Kowloon West381,484Kowloon Central454,595New Territories South East472,751New Territories North431,604New Territories North West468,752New Territories South West510,558New Territories North East478,252
See also Elections in Hong Kong Hong Kong legislative elections List of constituencies of Hong Kong Party-list proportional representation
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