Macau leadership election set for October – only 400 eligible to vote and candidates pre-vetted
Hong Kong Free Press
Around 400 establishment figures are set to elect Macau’s new leader on October 13, with a new law requiring candidates to be vetted for their political stance. Each must also sign a declaration of allegiance to Beijing, as well as to the Special Administrative Region.
The Macau government on Monday announced the date after Sunday’s poll to select members of the 400-seat election committee. They will be tasked with choosing the city’s chief executive for the next five years.
Incumbent leader Ho Iat-seng has not yet said whether he will run for a second term. However, Jorge Chiang, a local entrepreneur and the head of the Macau Institutionalism Association and the Macao Lotus Commerce Association, has announced his bid to run.
Under Macau’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law, the chief executive must be a Chinese national who is over 40 years old and who has continuously resided in Macau for no less than 20 years.
The leader is to be chosen by the election committee consisting of representatives from sectors such as industry and commerce, finance, and labour, as well as political and religious delegates.
The Macau government said on Sunday that the election committee poll had seen 5,521 eligible voters cast their ballots, which amounted to a record 88.1 per cent turnout rate, calling it a “reflection of the Macau society’s support and recognition of the new electoral system.”
The polling results had “contributed to efforts by all of Macanese society to safeguard national security, to implement the ‘patriots governing Macau’ principle, and to the long-term stability of Macau,” it said in a Chinese statement.
Macau passed new election law last December that gives the election committee power to vet candidates for the leadership role to ensure allegiance to the Basic Law and to the city.
The candidate has to secure 66 nominations from the election committee in order to run. They must also sign a declaration pledging allegiance to Beijing and Macau.
As of June 2024, Macau has a population of 687,000, according to official figures.
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