AL elections mark historic drop in nominations

The Legislative Assembly (AL), comprising 14 directly elected members, 12 indirectly elected members, and seven government-appointed members, saw only nine teams nominated for direct elections and six groups for indirect elections by the application deadline, marking a new low.

According to a statement by the Government Information Bureau (GCS) on Friday, only 15 application forms were submitted to the Electoral Affairs Commission for the Legislative Assembly Election (CAEAL) by the 5:30 p.m. deadline, with nine candidates running for directly elected seats and six for indirect elections.

Among the nine applications for direct elections, seven were submitted by groups affiliated with current directly elected legislators, including the “Union for Promoting Progress,” “Association of Synergy of Macao,” “Alliance for a Happy Home,” “New Hope,” “Union for Development,” “Macau-Guangdong Union,” and the “Macau Institution of People’s Alliance.”

The remaining two, “Mutual Help Grassroots” and “Macau People’s United Force for the Future,” represent candidates seeking re-election and newcomers.

This marks the lowest number of participating groups since the 14 that competed in the 2021 election, with a decrease of 13 and 16 compared to 2021 and 2017, respectively.

Notably, this is the first time the number of participating groups has dropped to a single digit and fallen below the number of available seats.

In the previous direct elections for the Legislative Assembly in 2021, the Electoral Affairs Commission received 22 applications, but two teams voluntarily withdrew their candidacies, and “Mutual Help Grassroots” could not continue due to insufficient nominations. Additionally, six groups were disqualified for allegedly failing to “support the Basic Law of Macau” and not “pledging allegiance to the Macau Special Administrative Region.” Consequently, only 14 groups remained on the direct election list, marking a new low since the handover.

The CAEAL reaffirmed that nomination committees deemed legitimate can submit their lists of candidates and political platforms by June 26. After this date, the CAEAL will begin checking whether the candidates meet eligibility requirements and whether their submitted information adheres to the rules and regulations.

Among these, a candidate’s support for the Basic Law and loyalty to the Macau Special Administrative Region are assessed by the National Security Committee, which provides a binding review opinion to the CAEAL for those who do not meet the criteria. The GCS statement underlined that the CAEAL’s decisions on candidate eligibility based on this opinion cannot be challenged or appealed in court.

The CAEAL announced that it is accelerating the process of verifying the legal status of each nomination committee. After completing the necessary procedures, it will decide by next Sunday at the latest whether to certify or reject the committees’ legal existence, and will announce the results of the candidate list verification by July 15.

It pledged to strictly follow the election law and conduct subsequent election procedures in an orderly fashion, implementing new regulations to reinforce the principle of “patriots administering Macau.”

CCAC probes dozens of election-related complaints

The head of the Commission Against Corruption (CCAC), Ao Ieong Seong, revealed that over 50 election-related complaints have been received so far through hotlines, online platforms, and referrals from the Electoral Affairs Commission and other law enforcement agencies.

Of these, around 17 cases are under further investigation. Due to ongoing inquiries, specific details have not been disclosed.

Speaking to the press on the sidelines of an event yesterday, the official said that since the start of the nomination period, the CCAC has conducted over 1,000 inspections across association premises and public events, with no confirmed violations.

She emphasized that inspections are carried out discreetly to avoid disrupting activities and that warnings are issued in some cases.

Addressing concerns raised in a local radio program about alleged benefits offered in exchange for nominations, she said the case likely involved seasonal gift-giving unrelated to the election, but warned against any actions that may raise suspicion.