Opinions at the Commission on Strategic Development (CSD) meeting regarding the election of Chief Executive through universal suffrage got narrower, the government said yesterday.

Yet there remains a big gap over the election method of the Legislative Council in the run-up to full democracy when all its seats are returned through universal suffrage, it said.

Speaking after a commission meeting yesterday, Secretary for Constitutional Affairs Stephen Lam said there had been a faster progress on the discussion over the election of the Chief Executive through universal suffrage.

"So there is a greater chance of reaching consensus on the method of returning the Chief Executive by universal suffrage," he told the press after the meeting. "But since the commission is still deliberating on this subject, we will await outcome of the report after the next meeting in January 2007.

"We will also await the feedback from the citizens and different quarters of the community," he said in reply to the media question on whether the government would submit two separate electoral proposals to LegCo for voting.

Most members agreed to set up a broadly representative nomination committee comprising 800 to 1,600 members who will nominate the Chief Executive candidates.

As to the threshold, members proposed various nomination requirements ranging from one-fourth to one-eighth of the nomination committee members, he revealed.

However, there are differences of views as to the destiny of the 30 functional constituency (FC) seats as Hong Kong goes ahead with the ultimate aim of election of all LegCo members by universal suffrage.

Although some members insisted that the 30 FC seats be replaced by direct election, some suggested nomination by the FCs prior to election by the voters on a one-man-multiple-vote basis.

Lam said: "At today's meeting, members from different political parties and backgrounds couldn't help but agree that election of LegCo members through universal suffrage may have to be carried out in phases. It is also a progress when we get closer today on the phasing out of the functional constituency seats," Lam said.

He also revealed that majority members agreed to shelve the bicameral system earlier proposed.