Hong Kong's Executive Council on Friday endorsed the city government's proposal to ban lawmakers who resign mid-term from seeking re-election for six months.

Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs of the city government, Raymond Tam, proposed that members of the city's Legislative Council (LegCo) who resign should be barred from standing in by-elections for six months. The proposal was unveiled after the two-month public consultation.

"We propose to prohibit a LegCo member returned by a geographical constituency, the District Council (second) functional constituency or any other functional constituency who has resigned from office from standing in any by-elections in the same LegCo term within six months of his resignation," he told a press conference.

Several legislators resigned in 2010 and stood for election to fight for a referendum on universal suffrage, which caused an outcry in Hong Kong.

Tam said the proposal is lawful and constitutional because electors can exercise their right to vote in the by-election and the six-month ban is reasonable.

It is an abuse of process for a member to resign in order to trigger a by-election, in which the member intends to stand and seek re-election, the city government said in a statement.

This will have an adverse impact on the credibility of the electoral system. Apart from the manpower and financial resources involved, between a member's resignation and the by-election, the LegCo will be deprived of the service of a member, and the constituents will be deprived of the service of the member as their representative, it said.

Other proposals include continuing to fill a vacancy arising mid-term by a by-election, and not applying the restriction to general elections.

Tam said he hoped to complete the legislative process within the 2011-12 legislative year.

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