ELECTION candidates whose friends treat people to meals in order to canvass votes, would be breaking the law under new proposals. The Boundary and Election Commission begins a month of public consultation on Monday on its 16-chapter document outlining the rules. Chairman Mr Justice Woo Kwok-hing said yesterday that people could write to the commission or give their opinions at open meetings over the month. He said the law would be in force by the District Board election in September. Liberal Democratic Federation legislator Alfred Tso Shiu-wai said the proposal was good in principle, but it would be difficult to prove candidates' friends were treating voters to meals in exchange for votes. ''If candidates really want their friends to get votes for them by inviting people to a meal, there are a lot of ways to do it and it is hard to prove.'' Mr Justice Woo said the Registration and Electoral Office had received more than 130,000 voter registration forms up to last week. He said about 65 per cent of the 40,000 or so processed registrations were from new voters. He hoped more potential voters would register before the July 1 deadline.
