To help all 800 Election Committee members cast their votes on March 25, the Electoral Affairs Commission has extended polling time by an hour for the first round of voting - from 9am to 11am.

In the first election, in 1996, members had just one hour to vote. The poll will be held at the AsiaWorld-Expo, next to Hong Kong International Airport.

A spokesman for the commission said it had been decided to extend voting hours because this was the first time the venue had been used as a polling and counting station and members might not be familiar with the location.