Chief Executive election | New Macau to hold Sunday meeting calling for universal suffrage

Lawmaker Sulu Sou (right) and ANM President Kam Sut Leng

New Macau Association (ANM) is planning a meeting on Sunday in front of Escola Luso-Chinesa Técnico-Professional to demand universal suffrage in the upcoming Chief Executive election. ANM, which made the announcement yesterday during a street campaign in Fai Chi Kei, said that all citizens should be entitled to vote for the city’s next top official.

At the meeting, New Macau introduced its campaign against the system for electing the Chief Executive.

“In the past three weeks, we have been conducting a campaign to oppose the small-circle election of the members of the Electoral Committee for the Chief Executive election. We have already done eight street campaigns to explain to residents this unreasonable, undemocratic and closed election,” said Sulu Sou, on behalf of ANM.

The election to decide the members of the Electoral Committee is scheduled to take place on June 16. On Sunday, 633 local associations will nominate 350 candidates to run for 340 seats. These associations will also nominate some 5,000 residents to vote for the 350 candidates.

“The upcoming election cannot represent the public opinion of the Macau people,” said Sou.

“Associations represent public opinions to some degree, but not all of them,” said the lawmaker. “Macau has 310,400 qualified voters [in the Legislative Assembly]. But they will all be excluded from the election on Sunday. This is completely unreasonable.”

“We want to tell the public that the election is related closely to everybody, but this election is also completely unrelated to anybody,” said Sou.

According to ANM’s plan, on June 16, it will hold a public meeting at a poll station at the Escola Luso-Chinesa Técnico- Professional.

ANM has already notified the Public Security Police Force (PSP), however, the exact location of the meeting has not yet been confirmed.

“We sincerely call on residents to participate,” said Sou. “Our appeal is hoping that 310,400 voters can have the right to vote, or else we disagree with the existence of the election committee.”

According to Macau’s election rule, candidates for the CE should be nominated by association members from all sectors.

“How many sectors [do we need] to completely include all Macau residents?” Sou questioned, adding “Macau is a small place; [it] only has around 310,400 voters. We have no need for the small circle election. […] In today’s Macau, this is unacceptable.”

“We hope for universal suffrage. We want to tell the 5,000 voters that their votes belong to everybody,” he added.

Separately, Sou expressed ANM’s concerns over the protests in Hong Kong.

“We attach great attention to Hong Kong’s situation. We express our deepest sorrow, even though we are Macau people. We hope that the Hong Kong government can withdraw the bill, and stop the bloodshed. We don’t want to see more bloody situations,” said Sou.