Candidates excluded from previous elections are still banned from running this year

The candidates who were excluded from running in the Legislative Assembly (AL) elections in 2021 are still not eligible for this year’s elections, the new president of the Electoral Affairs Committee for the AL elections (CAEAL), Seng Ioi Man, said on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony for the president and members of CAEAL.

Questioned by the media on the topic, Seng clarified that the previous ban on such candidates was valid for five years and has not yet expired. This means that all the excluded candidates who were part of the pro-democracy camp will not be able to run in the summer elections this year.

Seng noted that, according to the amendments made to the electoral laws aimed at “better protecting national security,” all candidates who have been banned for being considered disloyal to the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) or the People’s Republic of China cannot participate in any decision-making posts related to the MSAR.

The CAEAL president also noted that in the last review of the election law, clear qualification standards were established that all candidates must possess to be eligible.

Back in 2021, the CAEAL excluded 15 candidates from the election run after an evaluation classified them as ineligible due to having performed activities or expressed opinions that were against the national rules and, thus, not being considered “patriots.”

The AL comprises 33 lawmakers; 14 of them are elected by universal suffrage, 12 are chosen by indirect suffrage (as representatives of sectorial groups), and the remaining seven are appointed directly by the Chief Executive.

At the moment, the 14 lawmakers elected by universal suffrage are Si Ka Lon, Zheng Anting, Wong Kit Cheng, Leong Sun Iok, Leong Hong Sai, Ron Lam, Ma Io Fong, José Maria Pereira Coutinho, Ella Lei, Song Pek Kei, Che Sai Wang, Lo Choi In, Ngan Iek Hang, and Nick Lei.