Legislative Assembly Electoral Affairs Committee (CAEAL) President Tong Hio Fong said yesterday that the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) had made a “technical mistake” by not explaining clearly the reasons for rejecting the New Macau Progressives (ANPM) electoral group’s application to hold campaign rallies in various public places.
The bureau refused the applications submitted by the New Macau Progressives, No. 7 on Sunday’s ballot, and two other electoral groups last week. In the replies to the groups, the bureau merely said it rejected their applications because they planned to hold the rallies “in the name of the electoral groups”.
Wong Kin Long, the ANPM fourth-ranked candidate, filed an appeal with the Court of Final Appeal (TUI) and the court ruled on Monday that the bureau’s rejections were “ungrounded” and, consequently, the ANPM won the case. The ruling described the IACM’s statement on the rejections as “virtually incomprehensible”.
Legislative Assembly Electoral Affairs Committee (CAEAL) President Tong Hio Fong (front) speaks to reporters after a regular meeting of the government-appointed committee, as fellow committee members Kou Peng Kuan (left) and Lai U Hou look on, at the Public Administration Building in Rua do Campo yesterday. Photo: Debby Seng
Legislative Assembly Electoral Affairs Committee (CAEAL) President Tong Hio Fong (front) speaks to reporters after a regular meeting of the government-appointed committee, as fellow committee members Kou Peng Kuan (left) and Lai U Hou look on, at the Public Administration Building in Rua do Campo yesterday.
Photo: Debby Seng
