The Basic Law (promulgated by Beijing in 1990) prescribes a Council of 60 seats: at present, the Council comprises 20 members elected by popular vote in geographical ridings, 30 by functional constituencies, and 10 by an Election Committee.

The first elections to the Legislative Council since the Changeover were held in May 1998. Record numbers (nearly 1.5 million voters, or 53% of registered voters) turned out to vote for their candidates in the contests for the 20 geographical seats.

According to the Basic Law, the number of legislators to be returned by direct election in geographical ridings will increase to 24 in 2000, and to 30 in 2004. The ultimate aim is the election of all 60 legislators by universal suffrage. As stipulated in the Basic Law, it will be up to the Hong Kong people to decide how best to achieve that aim after 2007.

The next Legislative Council elections will be held in September 2000.