HONG KONG - The Hong Kong government is tentatively scheduled to hold the 2020 Legislative Council General Election on Sept 6, but the plan might be adjusted depending on how the COVID-19 outbreak develops in the city.

The current Legislative Council’s term end on Sept 30. Traditionally, the LegCo General Election, held every four years, is scheduled in the first half of September

Hong Kong’s electoral body adopted Sept 6 as the provisional date to prepare for the election, a spokesman for the Registration and Electoral Office (REO) said in response to a China Daily inquiry on Wednesday. Authorities have yet to announce a final timetable for the LegCo election.

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The Hong Kong government had delayed the announcement of the schedule for the LegCo election because of the COVID-19 outbreak. Practical arrangements for the election are usually published in March.

Patrick Nip Tak-kuen, secretary for constitutional and mainland affairs, said on Tuesday the REO will proceed to locate polling stations and recruit about 30,000 employees to participate in polling and ballot-counting.

He added that the government will closely monitor the curve of outbreak in the city to see if holding the election would jeopardize public health.

The current Legislative Council’s term end on Sept 30. Traditionally, the LegCo General Election, held every four years, is scheduled in the first half of September. In total, 70 members — 35 from geographical constituencies and 35 from functional constituencies — are elected.

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The Hong Kong SAR government, the REO, and Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC) will continue to carry out preparatory work for the election, such as voter registration and consultation on draft guidelines for the 2020 Legislative Council election, Nip said.

The EAC said Tuesday that it had received more than 90,000 comments on draft guidelines during a month-long public consultation. The final version of the guidelines will be published in June.