HONG KONG -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government announced on Friday that the Chief Executive in Council, in accordance with the Legislative Council Ordinance, has specified Jan 1, 2022 as the commencement date of the seventh Legislative Council (LegCo) of the HKSAR.

In addition, under the ordinance, the chief executive has specified Jan 12, 2022 as the date on which the 2022 legislative session is to begin, and 11:00 a.m. local time of Jan 12, 2022 as the time for holding the first meeting of the seventh LegCo.

Notices announcing the dates and time were published Friday in the HKSAR government gazette.

The LegCo election will be held on Dec 19, the first since improvements to the HKSAR electoral system earlier this year. A total of 90 members, including 20 from geographical constituencies, 30 from functional constituencies, and 40 from the Election Committee constituency, will be returned.