New Macau Association | Survey: 5,351 residents voted in favor of universal suffrage

A total of 5,351 votes were cast in favor of having a Chief Executive elected by universal suffrage.

The result of the “Vote on Universal Suffrage for Chief Executive Election 2019,” organized by the New Macau Association (ANM, from the Portuguese acronym), showed that 93.9% were in favor of such an election process, while 236 (4.1%) voted against it, with 111 (2%) abstentions.

The activity aimed to provide a platform for citizens to speak out about political reform and universal suffrage during the election of the Chief Executive. However, according to the association, due to the limited publicity resources, it is only possible for the association to appeal through street booths and social networks.

The number of voters was said to be in line with the organizer’s expectations. Members of the association said that they believed that there were still those who were concerned about universal suffrage yet had not voted for various reasons.

The vote was originally scheduled to end at 12 p.m. on August 25. However, since August 15, the website has been continually suffering from cyberattacks mainly from the mainland. Consequently, the association said it had decided to end the voting activity on August 24 after a “prudent assessment” of the risks at stake.

On August 22, the ANM received specific information indicating that the above situation would likely intensify, and that members of the association might be at risk. Service interruptions also occurred on the website for the vote on August 23, leaving the participants unable to cast a vote.

Although the association said that the voting activity was carried out peacefully in full accordance with the law, it admitted that it has been continuously experiencing technological and political threats and attacks, which constitute a violation of the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens.

“The ANM deeply regrets this. Meanwhile, the ANM appeals to everyone with political differences to respect each other,” the association said in a statement.

“Although the result of the vote is not legally binding, the ANM emphasizes its hope that such results can serve as an important reference for the coming SAR government,” it added.

The association expressed its belief that the coming government should strive to reinitiate political reform within Chief Exceutive-elect Ho Iat Seng’s term of office and set a timetable and guidelines for stepping towards the common societal goal of universal suffrage for the Chief Executive election.

Lawmaker Sulu Suo previously told the press that the association received threats from people who tried to surround their offices and call for the website to be taken down. Sou said they were insulted because they held different political opinions.

Police authorities are aware of this and have taken videos of the threats.