EXECUTIVE Councillor Professor Felice Lieh-mak said yesterday that draft legislation on arrangements for the 1994-95 Legislative Council elections would definitely be passed within the current Legco session.
''It takes time to prepare for the elections; we can't wait until the next session in October,'' she said.
Asked if she was optimistic that there would be Sino-British talks on political reform, Professor Lieh-mak said the current impasse had to be resolved.
But she would not say whether Exco was likely to extend the scheduled February deadline for gazetting the 1995 election legislation when members meet tomorrow.
Meanwhile, an independent legislator warned yesterday that the chance of Legco approving the political reforms proposed by the Governor, Mr Chris Patten, would rise if the current Sino-British row continued.
Mr Andrew Wong Wang-fat, an elected Legco member and university lecturer, said: ''If China continues to take a strong stand against the Patten proposals, Legco members will feel the high autonomy of the territory is being threatened and do what they can to protect the autonomy.
''If both sides fail to reach any agreement, or diplomatic relations deteriorate, I believe more than half of Legco members will support the Patten proposals.