Forty-two candidates have been confirmed as qualified to run for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's deputies to the nation's top legislature. The election, which will pick 36 new deputies, is scheduled to take place on Dec 15.

The candidates were approved at the second presidium meeting of the Conference for Electing Deputies of the Hong Kong SAR to the 14th National People's Congress on Thursday.

During the meeting, a 19-member presidium with Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu as the chairperson reviewed the nomination forms submitted by 42 applicants within the nomination period from Nov 23 to Nov 30.

All the applicants met the candidacy requirements, which included getting nominations from over 15 electoral conference members. If successfully elected as the HKSAR's NPC deputies, they will serve a term of five years.

These candidates include social leaders from various sectors, such as Stanley Ng Chau-pei, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, Chan Yung, chairman of the New Territories Association of Societies, veteran cultural and art expert Ma Fung-kwok, and legal pundits Chan Man-ki and Leung Mei-fun.

Earlier on Wednesday, Macao's NPC deputy election conference announced that 15 candidates were qualified to run for the deputy election on Dec 12.

An 11-member presidium chaired by Macao Chief Executive Ho Iatseng reviewed the nomination forms submitted by 16 applicants within Macao's nomination period, which ran from Nov 22 to Nov 28.

Among the 15 candidates, nine are current Macao NPC deputies. Others include members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference as well as leaders in other sectors.

The NPC is the highest organ of State power in China. It is composed of NPC deputies who are elected from 35 electoral units according to the law, including people's congresses of provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government, the deputy election council of the HKSAR and Macao SAR, and the Taiwan compatriots' consultation election council. Each congress is elected for a term of five years.