With just a month remaining until the eighth Legislative Assembly direct and indirect elections on September 14, the Electoral Affairs Commission for the Legislative Assembly Election (CAEAL) reported yesterday that voters are showing increasing interest in this year’s election.
Beginning on August 5, voters have been able to find out their polling locations for the September 14 elections using various methods, such as the Macao One Account, the Legislative Assembly Election website, and the electoral hotline.
Seng Ioi Man, the president of the CAEAL, stated during a press briefing after yesterday morning’s closed meeting that over 116,000 inquiries were made in just one week, indicating that “voters are highly interested in obtaining voting information […] In particular, voters are seeking information specifically related to the voting day on September 14.”
According to the CAEAL, voting notices will also be mailed to ensure that all voters are informed about their polling locations.
On election day, 37 polling locations across Macau will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The CAEAL advises voters to bring their physical ID cards to the designated polling stations and present them to staff for verification. Once verified, voters will receive their ballots.
Voters must enter the voting booth and use the designated stamp to mark their preferred candidate in the corresponding blue square before depositing their ballot into the ballot box.
The CAEAL also emphasized the importance of maintaining voting confidentiality.
According to election law, voters must not disclose their voting intentions to others in the designated area outside the polling station, nor are they allowed to use mobile phones or other devices to photograph ballots. Noncompliance may result in a violation of election laws.
According to yesterday’s press briefing, the CAEAL has produced two videos aimed at helping voters better understand how the voting process works and the significance of maintaining confidentiality while voting.
These videos will be made available on multiple platforms, including the election and Government Information Bureau (GCS) websites, as well as social media. Furthermore, they will be aired on public broadcaster TDM to reach a larger audience and inform more voters.
Election campaign starts August 30
The Official Gazette (BO) published last week the chief executive’s decision regarding the broadcast times for election campaigns of each candidate list in the direct and indirect elections for the new term of the Legislative Assembly.
Each candidate list will be broadcast 33 times on the Chinese-language channel of TDM television, an increase of 12 times compared to the previous election.
The Portuguese-language channel will feature 25 broadcasts, an increase of nine times. Each broadcast on both channels will last one minute and 30 seconds.
On the radio, the Chinese-language channel will have 54 broadcasts, up 21 times from the last election, while the Portuguese-language channel will have 36 broadcasts, an increase of 15 times. Each radio broadcast will last one minute.
The final broadcasts on all channels will occur on September 12.
The CAEAL announced that all candidate lists have been allocated time slots for campaign publicity through a lottery draw, along with 18 public venues for campaign activities.
“The allocation of broadcast time was determined after careful consideration of costs and the publicity needs of each group,” Seng emphasized, urging all candidate lists to effectively plan and utilize the official channels and their own resources to promote their platforms and vision for serving Macau to voters. With less than 20 days remaining before the campaign period begins, he stressed the importance of preparing for the 14-day election campaign effectively.
The CAEAL reaffirmed that no form of publicity should take place outside the designated election campaign period. In response to media questions about whether the CAEAL monitoring group’s overseas activities involved illegal publicity, the president emphasized that the Legislative Assembly Election Law applies both locally and abroad.
Seng added that enforcement authorities will closely monitor potential violations, whether they occur locally or across borders, and will enforce the law through mechanisms such as police cooperation.
Meanwhile, the CAEAL stated that, per election law, each candidate list can appoint one principal representative and one alternate representative at each polling station to monitor voting activities. These representatives must be eligible voters and can only represent one candidate list at a specific polling station while exercising their rights.
Authorized representatives of the candidate lists must submit the list of station representatives to the CAEAL between this Saturday and August 25.
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