The 2004 Legislative Council elections were seen as generally free, open, and widely contested, though there were allegations of voter intimidation. The Hong Kong Government and the Legislative Council are currently engaged in a public consultation process intended to lead to changes in the mechanism for choosing the Chief Executive and forming the Legislative Council and move toward the "ultimate aim" of universal suffrage as prescribed by the Basic Law. In April 2004, the P.R.C. National People's Congress Standing Committee issued a decision on the scope and pace of constitutional reform, which laid out certain conditions for the process of democratic development. This decision precluded major changes to the electoral systems for the 2007 Chief Executive and 2008 Legislative Council elections. In December 2005 the Legislative Council rejected a Hong Kong Government-proposed package of incremental reforms to the mechanisms for choosing the Chief Executive in 2007 and forming the Legislative Council in 2008. The Hong Kong Government also implemented the Principal Officials Accountability System in July 2002, which was designed to make the government more responsive to public concerns. Eleven political appointees, directly responsible to the Chief Executive, to run the 11 policy bureaus were added. Three other senior civil service positions--the Chief Secretary, Financial Secretary, and Justice Secretary--also were converted to political appointments, although without a change in personnel.