CAEAL president Tong Hio Fong
The Electoral Affairs Commission (CAEAL) and the Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) have received over 120 complaints concerning unfair election activities, including suspected bribery during the two- week blackout period which ended on Saturday.
Back in August, the CAEAL reported that it received 36 complaints over alleged breaches of election law during the pre-campaign blackout period, which began on August 3.
Violating the rules of the pre-campaign period can incur fines between MOP2,000 and MOP10,000.
Speaking on the sidelines of an electoral event held on Saturday for candidate groups to promote their manifestos, CAEAL president Tong Hio Fong reminded candidates to closely follow its laws.
“The Legislative Assembly election has to be a fair game. We hope that candidates can respect the rules of the game and they should have a better sense of following the law than ordinary residents,” said Tong, as cited by TDM.
“All candidate groups need to follow the law strictly during the campaign period.”
The new election law also states that candidates must apply to the bureau if they plan to participate in any welfare activities.
A total of 85 requests have been referred to the bureau.
On a separate note, André Cheong, commissioner of the CCAC clarified that the electoral law does not forbid candidates from participating in non-electoral activities.
“It doesn’t mean it’s absolutely forbidden […] if their group participates in both electoral propaganda activities and welfare events. The issue is if they are carrying out any welfare activities and electoral propaganda at the same time, that means it’s a kind of bribery,” Cheong told the press.
The new electoral law has faced criticism by candidates and political analysts alike for its confusing definition of acceptable promotional activity in a political campaign.
The law states that any message or information designed to encourage voters – in an explicit or implicit way – to vote or not vote for a particular candidate or candidates are prohibited.
Candidates were banned from engaging in promotional activities during the blackout period, a move that electoral newcomers found problematic as it limited their ability to spread word of their campaigns. LV
