Elections of the Medical Council of Hong Kong
Election of Lay Members
According to section 3(2)(ga) of the Medical Registration Ordinance (Cap. 161), 3 Lay Members of the Medical Council are elected by organizations registered as electors under the Medical Council (Election and Appointment of Lay Members) Regulation (Cap. 161F) (“Regulation”).
Eligibility for Registration as Electors
The term of office of the existing 3 elected Lay Members will expire on 20 December 2024. In this connection, an electoral register is to be compiled in accordance with section 3 of the Regulation for the purpose of conducting an election to elect 3 Lay Members to fill the vacancies thus arising. Any organization meeting the following requirements may during the application period from 15 March 2024 (Friday) to 25 April 2024 (Thursday) (both days inclusive) apply for registration as an elector:
- Throughout the 2 years immediately before the end of the application period,
- it has been a company defined by section 2(1) of the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622), or a society or a branch of a society registered, or exempted from registration, under section 5A of the Societies Ordinance (Cap. 151); and
- it has been carrying on activities to safeguard or represent the interests of patients;
- Its principal objective is to safeguard or represent the interests of patients;
- It is recognized by a reference authority (i.e. the Hospital Authority, the Social Welfare Department or The Hong Kong Society For Rehabilitation) as an organization that safeguards or represents the interests of patients.
The Secretariat of the Medical Council will scrutinize the registration applications for approval by the Permanent Secretary for Health (“Permanent Secretary”). Organizations whose applications for registration as electors have been approved by the Permanent Secretary will have their particulars entered into the electoral register, and be eligible for subscribing nomination of candidate and casting votes to elect Lay Members of the Medical Council.
Application Procedure
The applicant organization must make the application in the specified form (LM-Reg (2024)). It must also, in accordance with its rules, appoint an individual as its authorized representative to act on its behalf for purposes relating to the election. Completed application form together with the appointment form for the authorized representative (LM-AR (2024)) and other required documents must be submitted by post or in person to the Secretariat of the Medical Council (Address: 4/F, Hong Kong Academy of Medicine Jockey Club Building, 99 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Aberdeen, Hong Kong) within the application period. For application sent by post, the date of the relevant post mark is taken to be the date on which the application is sent. Please note that late submission or submission by any other means will not be considered.
Notification of Application Result
The applicant organizations will be notified of the result of applications by post.