The Legislative Assembly Electoral Affairs Commission (CAEAL) announced in a statement yesterday it has decided to reject the formal objections from three direct-election lists all of whose candidates have been disqualified for failing to support the Macau Basic Law or having been disloyal to the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR).
The statement noted that the three lists can appeal to the Court of Final Appeal (TUI) by today against the commission’s final decision which it made yesterday.
The three lists, which lodged their respective objections late last week to the commission’s decision to disqualify all of their candidates, are 1) the Democratic Prosperous Macau Association list, of which high-profile political activist Scott Chiang Meng Hin and incumbent lawmaker Ng Kuok Cheong are the number-one and number-two candidates; 2) the New Macau Progressives list headed by incumbent legislator Sulu Sou Ka Kou, and 3) the New Macau Progressive Association list headed by former lawmaker Paul Chan Wai Chi.
The three lists are from the so-called “pro-democracy” or “non-establishment” camp.
On July 7, the commission had announced the preliminary acceptance of 159 candidates from 19 lists vying for the legislature’s 14 directly-elected seats.
Each direct-election list must have at least four and no more than 14 candidates.
The commission first announced on July 9 that it had decided to disqualify 21 candidates from six direct-election lists for failing to support the Macau Basic Law or having been disloyal to the MSAR. The commission said on July 9 that even though all 159 candidates fielded by 19 direct-election candidacy lists had formally declared their support for the Macau Basic Law and their loyalty to the MSAR when they submitted their candidacies, the commission’s candidacy qualification review process, based on evidence provided by the police, discovered that the 21 candidates had failed to respect the Macau Basic Law or had been disloyal to the MSAR, because of which the 21 residents were ineligible to stand in the September 12 direct election.
The 21 disqualified candidates comprise all 15 candidates from the three “pro-democracy” lists, two candidates from the Gaming New Macau list headed by gaming staff unionist Cloee Chao Sao Fong, two candidates from the Ou Mun Kong I (“Macau Righteousness”) list headed by veteran labour rights activist Lee Sio Kuan, and two candidates from the Macau Victory list.
The three “pro-democracy” lists, the Gaming New Macau list, and the Ou Mun Kong I list told the commission on Monday last week (the deadline for the relevant lists to replace disqualified candidates) that they had not failed to support the Macau Basic Law and had not been disloyal to the MSAR and consequently would not replace their candidates.
On Monday last week, the Macau Victory list requested permission from the commission to be allowed to replace one of its two disqualified candidates.
On Tuesday last week, the commission decided to stick to its decision to disqualify all 15 candidates from the three “pro-democracy” lists. Consequently, the commission rejected the acceptance of the three lists in their entirety.
On Tuesday last week, the commission decided to uphold its decision to disqualify the numbers one and two candidates of the Gaming New Macau list – Cloee Chao and Lei Man Chao. As the list had less than four candidates after Chao and Lei had been disqualified, the commission rejected the acceptance of the whole list as well.
The number of candidates disqualified for failing to support the Macau Basic Law or having been disloyal to the MSAR has meanwhile been reduced from 21 to 20 because, according to a statement by the commission on Tuesday last week, one of the six electoral lists affected by the individual disqualifications had requested to be allowed to replace a disqualified candidate.
On Tuesday last week, the commission decided to disqualify the number-one candidate of the Macau Victory list, Lo Chun Seng. As the list had less than four candidates after Lo had been disqualified, the commission rejected the acceptance of the whole list as well. The Macau Victory list comprised only four candidates before Lo was disqualified.
On Tuesday last week, the commission decided to keep its decision to disqualify the first and second-ranked candidates of the Ou Mun Kong I list – Lee and Kuong Kai Nang. Nevertheless, the commission has accepted the list as it still had four candidates after Lee and Kuong were disqualified.
Consequently, the commission on Tuesday last week rejected the acceptance of five of the six lists in their entirety, namely the three “pro-democracy” lists, the Gaming New Macau list and the Macau Victory list, while the Ou Mun Kong I list has been accepted. Therefore, the commission announced on Tuesday last week that 128 candidates fielded by 14 direct-election lists have been accepted, a 19.5-percent reduction from the provisionally accepted 159 candidates from 19 lists previously. The commission announced its updated list of the 128 accepted candidates that day.
On Tuesday night last week, the Macau Victory list told the media that it had decided to withdraw from the election so it would not lodge an objection to the commission’s decision to disqualify one of its candidates.
Later last week, the Gaming New Macau list – which had initially fielded eight candidates – announced that it had less than four candidates after Cloee Chao and Lei had been disqualified because three candidates had decided to quit the list due to “pressure” by their respective family members. Consequently, the whole list, Chao and Lei announced at a press conference, decided to withdraw from the election so it would not lodge an objection to the commission’s decision of disqualifying two of its candidates.
Disqualified candidates had the right to lodge their objections to the commission’s decision to disqualify them on Friday last week at the latest. All the three “pro-democracy” lists submitted their respective objections by that day.
Representatives of two of the three “pro-democracy” lists told the local media last night that they would appeal to the Court of Final Appeal (TUI) today – the last day.
According to government broadcaster TDM, Scott Chiang’s list will be represented by local Portuguese lawyer Jorge Meneses.
Sulu Sou’s list told the media yesterday evening that the group would “soon” decide whether to file an appeal.
Macau’s top court has six days to decide on the appeals.
A staff member of the Legislative Assembly Electoral Affairs Commission (CAEAL) posts the commission’s decision of rejecting objections from disqualified candidates and its updated list of accepted candidates for the upcoming direct and indirect legislative elections on a board on the ground floor of the Public Administration Building in Rua do Campo yesterday evening. Photo: GCS
