Hong Kong Electoral Affairs Commission briefed the three 2012 Chief Executive Election candidates on the rules and guidelines, and drew lots to determine the order of names of the candidates on the ballot paper on Sunday.

According to the Electoral Affairs Commission, at the briefing session, Commission Chairman Justice Barnabas Fung advised the candidates the Guidelines on Election-related Activities in respect of the Chief Executive Election and the relevant legislation, and important points to note when conducting electioneering activities.

He called on the candidates and their agents to strictly observe the electoral guidelines and relevant legislation. He said they should cooperate with the commission and the departments concerned to ensure the election will be conducted in an open, fair, honest and clean manner.

After the briefing, Returning Officer Justice Jeremy Poon drew lots to determine the order of the candidates' names on the ballot paper and the allocation of designated display spots for election advertisements.

The order of names of the candidates on the ballot paper will be: Leung Chun-ying (No. 1), Albert Ho (No. 2) and Henry Tang (No. 3).

Fung introduced the arrangements for polling and counting of votes in the election during the briefing session.

"Voting for the Chief Executive Election will take place on March 25. The main polling station and the central counting station will be located at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center."

He added, "The first round of voting will be held from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.. Should there be a need for more than one round of voting, the second and third rounds of voting will be scheduled from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. respectively on the same day."

Once the poll is closed, the ballot boxes will be delivered to the central counting station where the counting of votes will take place. Candidates, election agents and counting agents may observe the entire counting procedure. Members of the public can also observe the counting process from the designated area inside the central counting station. After the completion of vote counting, the Returning Officer will announce the election results at the central counting station.

The three candidates were nominated on Feb. 29 for running for chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ( SAR).

During the nomination period starting from Feb. 14, the Electoral Affairs Commission received nomination forms from Albert Ho, a lawmaker who is also head of a local political party, Henry Tang, former chief secretary of the SAR government, and Leung Chun-ying, former convenor of the Non-Official Members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong.