The decision was welcomed by politicians and academics, who said officials had realised the importance of public opinion.

They said any decision on future voting arrangements should be made after thorough consultation.

'It is good the commission has listened to good advice,' Democratic Party chairman Yeung Sum said.

At a hastily arranged press conference, Mr Justice Woo Kwok-hing, chairman of the government-appointed commission, said the decision to keep to the traditional 7.30am to 10.30pm arrangement was made because people had not adequately aired their views in the earlier consultation.

'We have listened to good advice and I hope this will not become a precedent. Don't say we have no response to public demand ... we have listened,' Mr Justice Woo said. The elections on November 23 will fill 400 seats on 18 district councils.

The row began on Monday when the commission announced polling hours would be slashed by three hours in order to cut costs, speed the vote count and limit the disturbance to neighbourhoods.

The decision sparked uproar, with civil servants, cross-border truck drivers and service industry personnel complaining they would effectively be prevented from casting their votes due to their long working hours.

The Democrats vowed to help a truck driver file a judicial review if the plan went ahead. Human rights experts were also quick to criticise the new voting arrangements, saying they breached international standards and that overseas governments provided alternative voting methods for people who could not get to the ballot boxes. Mr Justice Woo said that since Monday, the commission had received 168 submissions and only two supported the reduced polling time. During a public consultation in April, 120 of 192 submissions favoured shorter polling times.

Mr Justice Woo admitted the consultation might not have shown the full picture since it was conducted at the height of the Sars outbreak.

'It is understandable that people had not paid enough attention to the consultation during the Sars outbreak. Maybe they were rushing to buy face masks rather than paying attention to these things. I did that as well when the price of the masks surged,' he said.

'We hope the decision can calm arguments in society over this issue. We don't want to bring uncertainty to the election, especially during the nomination period, as it would both affect candidates' plans and could muddle the voters.'

Mr Justice Woo denied the decision was made under political pressure or for fear of losing a court battle. 'I have never had any fears about the judicial review, as what I have done I have done according to the law. If someone said we are political he was definitely talking rubbish. The change we made this time was due to a special case and I don't believe it will affect our authority.'

But Mr Justice Woo maintained that shorter polling hours would not affect people's right to vote, despite claims that more than 200,000 workers could be excluded due to work pressures.

'We know [a shorter polling time] would definitely inconvenience some people, but I think only a small number would be affected,' he said, adding that people could cast their votes during lunchtime even if they worked far away from their constituencies. 'If you want to vote, you can definitely make it somehow.'

Mr Justice Woo said the commission might reintroduce the plan for next year's Legco election, depending on what happened at the November polls.

About-turn welcomed - A2

Editorial, Ming's view - A12