The Legislative Assembly Electoral Affairs Commission (CAEAL) announced yesterday that it has finally confirmed the validity of the candidacy nominations of eight electoral lists for the upcoming direct legislative election while it has rejected the validity of one list’s candidacy.
The officially required maximum is 500 candidacy nomination signatures of registered voters while the minimum number is 300. Each registered voter can only endorse one candidacy list.
The commission said yesterday that while the list whose candidacy has been rejected, Mutual Help Grassroots, had submitted more than 300 nominations, many of them were later deemed invalid by the commission because of which the commission told the list to rectify the situation, namely by resubmitting sufficient valid nominations, within five days, which, however, the list failed to do by the deadline.
CAEAL President Seng Ioi Man made the remarks while speaking to reporters after chairing a regular closed-door meeting of the commission at the Public Administration Building on Rua do Campo.
The direct and indirect legislative elections will take place on September 14.
A total of nine electoral lists had submitted registered voters’ signatures endorsing their respective candidacy for the upcoming direct legislative election to the commission before the submission deadline on June 6, after which the commission verified the validity of the nominations submitted by the nine electoral lists.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Seng noted that the commission has made its final decision as to whether to accept the nine list’s candidacy nominations, among which, he said, the commission has finally confirmed the validity of the candidacy nominations of eight lists, comprising, by order of the timing of their respective submissions: 1) Union for Development (UPD), 2) Progress Promotion Union (UPP), 3) Macau United Citizens Association (ACUM), 4) Macau Creating People’s Livelihood Force, 5) Power of Synergy, 6) Alliance for a Happy Home, 7) New Hope, and 8) Macau-Guangdong Union (UMG).
According to previous media reports, the commission informed the Mutual Help Grassroots list, which submitted 395 nominations on June 5, on June 8 that only 222 nominations were deemed valid by the commission, and told the list to resubmit sufficient valid nominations, i.e., at least 78 more nominations, within five days in order to be accepted.
The Mutual Help Grassroots list is represented by Wong Wai Man, commonly dubbed Captain Macau by netizens. Wong heads the grassroots Macau Bar Benders Association.
Wong is reportedly facing charges of running an illegal mahjong parlour. Four years ago, he also failed to submit enough valid candidacy nomination signatures so that his election bid was rejected by the authorities. He ran as a candidate eight years ago.
Macau’s direct and indirect Legislative Assembly (AL) elections are held every four years.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Seng said that the commission had finally rejected the nomination validity of the Mutual Help Grassroots list’s candidacy.
Seng noted that the Mutual Help Grassroots list had submitted more than 300 nominations before June 6, but many of them were later deemed invalid by the commission. Seng said that many nominations were not signed by registered voters, while some nominations were signed by voters who were later found to have endorsed more than one electoral list. Seng also said that some voters failed to sign the nominations in line with their respective ID cards.
Seng said that the commission told the Mutual Help Grassroots list to rectify the situation by resubmitting sufficient valid nominations to the commission on or before Friday last week, but the list had failed to do so by the deadline.
The eight accepted lists will vie for 14 directly-elected seats in the 33-member legislature.
Each direct election list must have at least four and no more than 14 candidates.
The 33-member Legislative Assembly (AL) comprises 14 deputies directly elected by universal suffrage, 12 deputies indirectly elected by association representatives and seven deputies appointed by the chief executive after the direct and indirect elections.
In the direct election four years ago, 14 candidacy lists vied for the 14 directly elected seats at stake.
Among the eight accepted electoral lists, candidates of seven lists were elected in the 2021 direct election. The remaining list, Macau Creating People’s Livelihood Force, will run in the direct legislative election for the first time.
According to previous news reports, the Macau Creating People’s Livelihood Force list is represented by Tim Wong Tak Loi, who heads a string of Macau-Myanmar associations.
The number of lists for the upcoming 2025 direct election will be the smallest since the first direct legislative election was held in 2001 after the establishment of the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) on December 20, 1999.
The Macau United Citizens Association (ACUM) list, the electoral vehicle of the Alliance for Common People Building Up Macau (API), was the big winner in the 2021 direct election when it won three seats – current lawmakers Si Ka Lon, Becky Song Pek Kei and Nick Lei Leong Wong.
The Alliance for Common People Building Up Macau, one of the city’s biggest community associations, is generally regarded as representing the city’s sizeable Fujianese community.
The Union for Development (UPD) list, the electoral vehicle of the Macau Federation of Trade Unions (commonly known as Gung Luen in Cantonese), won two seats four years ago – current lawmakers Ella Lei Cheng I and Leong Sun Iok.
The Progress Promotion Union (UPP) list, the electoral vehicle of the Macau General Union of Neighbourhood Associations (commonly known as Kai Fong in Cantonese), won two seats four years ago – current lawmakers Leong Hong Sai and Ngan Iek Hang.
The Power of Synergy list won one seat four years ago – current legislator Ron Lam U Tou, who is a senior board member of local think tank Macau Synergy Association.
The Alliance for a Happy Home list, the electoral vehicle of the Macau Women’s General Association (commonly known as Fu Luen in Cantonese), won two seats four years ago – current lawmakers Wong Kit Cheng and Ma Io Fong.
The New Hope list, the electoral vehicle of the Macau Civil Servants Association (ATFPM), won two seats four years ago – current lawmakers José Maria Pereira Coutinho and Che Sai Wang.
The Macau-Guangdong Union list, the electoral vehicle of the Macau Jiangmen Communal Society, won two seats four years ago – current lawmakers Zheng Anting and Lo Choi In.
Legislative Assembly Electoral Affairs Commission (CAEAL) President Seng Ioi Man (3rd from right) addresses yesterday’s press briefing at the Public Administration Building, flanked by fellow commission members (from left to right) Louie Wong Lok I, Mak Kim Meng, Lai U Hou, Ng Wai Han, and Daisy Ho In Mui. – Photo: GCS
