Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor elected as Hong Kong's new chief executive

Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor (2nd R) arrives at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center before the voting for the fifth-term chief executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), March 26, 2017. Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor wins the election of Hong Kong's fifth-term chief executive by obtaining more than 600 votes. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)

Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor won election of Hong Kong's fifth-term Chief Executive by obtaining more than 600 votes on Sunday.

The voting started at 9 am local time (0100 GMT) and nearly 1,200 members of the Election Committee for the next chief executive cast their votes by secret ballot at the main polling station in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center.

There are three qualified candidates running for the SAR's top position. The order of their names on the ballot paper is -- Tsang Chun-wah, Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and Woo Kwok-hing.

The voting will be closed at 11 am and the results of counting will be announced later. If no candidate wins outright, the second round of voting will be scheduled from 2 pm to 3 pm and the third round from 7 pm to 8 pm on Sunday.

A candidate wins the election when he or she obtains more than 600 valid votes in any round of voting and will be appointed by the central government, according to Hong Kong's Basic Law and the Chief Executive Election Ordinance.

After the appointment, the winner will take oath of office on July 1 and become the fifth-term chief executive.