Chief Executive calls for active voter participation

At polling stations across Macau, voting for the eighth Legislative Assembly elections commenced at 9 a.m., where 14 directly elected members and 12 indirectly elected members are to be chosen.

At around 9 a.m., Legislative Assembly (AL) President Kou Hoi In cast his vote this morning at the Polytechnic University polling station and emphasized the importance of this election as the first under the new electoral law, which “improved the candidate qualification review mechanism to better implement the principle of ‘patriots governing Macau.'”

At the same time, the Electoral Affairs Commission for the Legislative Assembly Election (CAEAL) chairman Seng Ioi Man visited the Polytechnic University polling station and reported that operations were running smoothly.

Seng told the media that efforts to ease long queues from previous elections included optimizing queuing areas and splitting some indirect polling stations.

Seng confirmed that “all 38 direct and 5 indirect polling stations proceeded smoothly 30 minutes after the polls opened, with only a few locations experiencing longer waits.” He also confirmed that the total number of eligible voters is 328,506.

Free bus and light rail services are available throughout the day to help voters reach polling stations on election day. Some locations experienced queues, with wait times ranging between 30 to 60 minutes.

At 10:15 a.m., Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai, accompanied by his wife, cast his vote at the Instituto Salesiano Catholic elementary school polling station. After casting his vote, the CE described the process to reporters as “quick, concise, and clear.”

Speaking to the media, Sam emphasized the importance of civic responsibility, stating, “Voting is both a citizen’s right and a citizen’s obligation,” and urged Macau residents to participate actively in the election.

“This marks the beginning of a new stage of development and a new historical period (for Macau),” he said.

When asked about civil servants’ voting choices, the CE clarified that efforts made by authorities to encourage civil servant participation are grounded in fulfilling statutory responsibilities and upholding political ethics, emphasizing that civil servants have full independence in selecting their candidates.

“Because the Special Administrative Region must implement the legal regime to organize elections, we call on civil servants, who carry out the SAR’s political system, to support the organization of elections […] Civil servants, as members of the legislative team representing public service fairness, have the responsibility to support the SAR in effectively conducting elections. However, how they choose their candidates and voting groups is entirely their own decision, which the public service profession respects,” explained the CE.

Voters are reminded that they must present their physical ID card at their designated polling station in order to cast their ballot. They are also reminded that the use of telecommunication devices or photographing ballots inside polling stations is strictly prohibited.

Polling stations are scheduled to remain open for a total of 12 consecutive hours, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

At 12:20 p.m. today, the Chief Executive visited the polling station located at the indoor sports ground of the Olympic Sports Center in Taipa.

Prior to casting his vote at Instituto Salesiano, he also paid visits to the Election Coordination Center and the Election Security Coordination Center.

As of 2 p.m., the election turnout stood at 31.96%, with 104,984 votes cast.

In comparison, the 2021 Legislative Assembly election saw an overall turnout of 42.38%, with 137,281 voters participating on September 12.

For the indirect suffrage in that election, approximately 7,000 people voted, representing a turnout rate of 87.33%.

This year’s election also marks the first held since last year’s amendment to the Legislative Council Election Law, which fully implements the principle of “patriots governing Macau,” under the ‘One country, two systems’ framework.

According to prior statements from CAEAL, the amended Electoral Law makes the Committee for Safeguarding National Security responsible for reviewing candidates’ allegiance to the Macau SAR and their upholding of the Basic Law,

This year’s legislature will have 33 seats, including 14 directly elected and 12 indirectly elected seats. There are six candidate groups competing in both elections.  A total of 71 candidates compete for the 14 directly elected seats, while 14 candidates compete for 12 indirectly elected seats.