Chui Sai On votes
The Chief Executive (CE) Chui Sai On, called on all voters to exercise their voting rights and select their preferred representatives to earn a seat in the Legislative Assembly (AL) for the sixth legislature.
The appeal was made right after the CE had voted, yesterday at noon, at the polling station located at the Instituto Salesiano School.
Chui recalled that the representatives now running for the election will have an important role in supervising the government’s work, stressing also that the Electoral Affairs Commission for the Legislative Assembly Election (CAEAL) had devoted all efforts to “ensuring the polls were held in a lawful, fair, just, open and clean manner” in line with the Legislative Assembly Election Law.
The CE expressed his gratitude to all staff working in the polling stations, commending the election process for being conducted in an orderly manner, and without problems.
The CE’s appeal for voters to vote, was followed by the government’s high-ranked officials who voted during the day at several locations around the Peninsula and Islands.
At the Macau Forum polling station, the director of the Customs Service, Alex Vong noted the simplicity of the voting system, observing that it took him less than five minutes to complete the process.
Earlier on, several government Secretaries placed their votes. One of the first to vote was the Secretary for Transports and Public Works, Raimundo do Rosário, who voted several minutes past 9 a.m. at the Macau Stadium in Taipa.
He said he chose to vote early in the morning as there were fewer voters and the process would be quicker .
The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lionel Leong, also voted in Taipa, and reaffirmed that the elections were running “in a legal, fair, transparent and honest way.” He added, “I believe the voters will exercise their right in a rational and prudent manner.”
The president of the AL, Ho Iat Seng was seen exiting from the polling station at the Macau Polytechnic Institute (IPM) in the early morning. He said it was “a duty of the lawmakers to proceed with legislative initiatives as well as to inspect government’s work,” and, “I hope there are some new faces for the Sixth Legislative Assembly. This will stimulate the work of the chamber.”
He also said that the AL is under a duty to attend to the problems of the population, noting that when matters relating to housing, transportation, medical assistance, education and economy are solved, people will feel more stable and happy. RM
Chui comments on barred journalists
Last week, Apple Daily (Hong Kong) sent journalists to Macau to report on the Legislative Assembly election. Twelve journalists from Apple Daily were denied entry to the city on the grounds that they “pose threats to Macau’s internal security stability.” Hong Kong Journalists Association says it “feels sorry” for the Macau authority’s decision, and that the journalists’ interviews would not pose threats to Macau’s internal security. The Chief Executive said yesterday that he believes the Macau immigration department’s decision had “no direct link to the work either of the Electoral Affairs Commission or of the Commission Against Corruption.”
