Bill to overhaul parliamentary selection requirements passes ExCo

A bill aimed at rebuilding the Legislative Assembly selection procedure has successfully passed the Executive Council (ExCo) and will be submitted to parliament, as revealed by the ExCo to a press conference over the weekend.

The ExCo noted in a statement that the restructuring is necessary “to further implement the principle of Macau being governed by patriots through the legal system and practical mechanisms.”

Among the most significant changes are the empowerment of the National Security Committee to vet the eligibilities of nominees – in terms of upholding the Basic Law and pledging allegiance to the Special Administrative Region (SAR) – by issuing binding opinions to the Electoral Affairs Commission. Another impactful change is the criminalization of public advocacy against voting or advocating for the casting of void or null votes.

The opinions from the committee will be so powerful that it will eliminate the right to appeal.

In the last selection procedure in 2021, 20 nominees were disqualified on the grounds of violating the Basic Law and allegiance to the SAR, leaving only 14 lists to compete for 14 seats in parliament.

The disqualification prompted people to take to social media platforms, calling for people to abstain from attending at the polling stations or promoting the casting of blank or null votes. While the effectiveness of this movement was uncertain, the selection resulted in a historically low turnout of only 42.38% and a high percentage of invalid votes (3.8%), both unprecedented since the establishment of the SAR.

It is also proposed that a nominee be disqualified if they have been legally identified as not upholding the Basic Law or not pledging allegiance to the SAR in the selection year or the five preceding years.

The bill also suggests advancing a campaign blackout date to the day following the cessation of the nomination period. Severe penalties are proposed for anyone who engages in malpractice in the announcement of polls.

The bill also proposes that each voter can only nominate one candidate and certain amendments concerning indirect election were also proposed.