It was attended by Li Jianguo, vice-chairman and secretary-general of the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) as the representative of the NPCSC, and presided by Leung Chun-ying, executive chairman of the 19-strong presidium which included former Chief Executives Tung Chee-hwa and Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, as well as Asia's richest man, Li Ka-shing, and Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) chairman Tam Yiu-chung.

[1] 52 candidates ran for 36 seats with 23 outgoing delegates, including Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai, member of the NPCSC, Maria Tam Wai-chu, deputy convenor of the Hong Kong delegation, and Fanny Law Fan Chiu-fun, Executive Council member and Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's former top aide.

New faces included former Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee Siu-kwong and Li Yinquan, vice-president of the China Merchants Group.

Only two contenders are pan-democrats, Fong King-lok, executive committee member of the Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union and Dutch-born Southern District councillor Paul Zimmerman, who quit the Civic Party in summer.

The top 36 candidates in the ballot, as long as they receive more than 50 per cent support, would be elected.