Gov’t to submit updated draft of AL Election Bill to parliament

With the competent parliamentary committee satisfied with the clarifications provided by the government on the Legislative Assembly Election Amendment Bill, an updated draft will be submitted to the parliament for review.

Committee president Chan Chak Mo held a press conference yesterday afternoon, following the committee’s meeting with competent government officials on the bill.

Chan said that the committee had concerns over Article 13 of the bill, which deals with the consistency of the Electoral Affairs Commission (CAEAL). In this article, the third clause proposes the circumstances under which a CAEAL member will be dismissed and replaced by an appointee of the Chief Executive.

The first draft of the bill failed to adequately provide for circumstances in which a CAEAL member is prosecuted or taken into custody over allegations that could ultimately lead to three or more years’ imprisonment.

While the government has agreed to provide for this circumstance in the updated bill, Chan stressed that the addition was demanded by the committee because similar provisions exist in the Chief Executive Electoral Law – the latest amendment to which was passed last year.

Another amendment to the bill related to the Chief Executive Electoral Law concerns the seventh clause of Article 33. Concerning accepting support from people committing deeds “not due to electoral purposes” (per the original text), the bill has since been amended to make reference to deeds “not permitted due to electoral purposes.”

Chan even speculated that the absence of the aforementioned circumstances in the updated bill was due to the Chief Executive Electoral Law failing to pass through parliament when the Election Amendment Bill was submitted to the legislature.

Article 184 proposes that the CAEAL, the Commission Against Corruption (CCAC), the Public Security Police Force (PSP) and the Judiciary Police (PJ) be authorized to handle “minor violations” stipulated in the relevant section.

Chan disclosed that committee members wondered why the PJ would be involved in handling minor violations, as under normal circumstances, the department concerns itself with more severe crimes.

As an explanation, the committee was told that in many instances, contemporary electoral violations take place online. Such violations include general cyber crimes, cyber-attacks, illegal campaigning, the release of classified survey results, and defamation.

According to Chan, citing Secretary for Administration and Justice André Cheong, the PJ are better trained to handle similar violations, thus justifying the department’s inclusion in the bill.

Chan added that the PJ, upon receiving a complaint or report, would initiate an investigation before delivering any conclusions to the CAEAL for further investigation.

On matters involving external authorities, Chan said that committee members were concerned with how the local government proposes to maintain investigative authorities in foreign jurisdictions. The bill provides for as much, should alleged violations take place outside of Macau.

Cheong offered assurances that the government has policing and judicial mechanisms in place for cooperation to facilitate this proposed authority.

The lawmakers also expressed their concerns over the ambiguity surrounding the distinction between the ordinary and lawful responsibilities of a lawmaker versus actions that would constitute illegal campaigning during an election. However, they decided to accept the government’s assurances, allowing the CAEAL to determine the nature of these matters.