Veteran Macau non-establishment lawmaker Au Kam San reaffirmed today that he won't run for reelection.
Au, 63, told reporters about his retirement from the legislature on the sidelines of a Spring Media Luncheon hosted by the Macau Legislative Assembly (AL) at the Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Centre.
Au has been a directly-elected member of the assembly for two decades. Legislative Assembly elections, which are held every four years, are slated to take place in September. Au told reporters that he was retiring from the legislative hemicycle for personal reasons. He didn't elaborate.
Au said that as a lawmaker he had "done the possible", adding that the legislature couldn't do much because of "limitations of the political system."
Au, a teacher by profession, complained that the legislature was "always talking about the same problems, questions and demands but I am not seeing any improvements." However, he noted that the government had heeded his call for building more public housing units.
Au refrained from mentioning anyone who could take up his seat, adding that he would continue to "monitor" the government after his retirement from the legislature.
In 2007, Au's New Democratic Movement Association won 6.59 percent of the popular vote and one seat.
Au's long-time political partner Ng Kuok Cheong, who has been a lawmaker since 1992, has still to announce whether he plans to run for reelection. Au and Ng, who is also 63, make up half of the legislature's four non-establishment members. Ng ran for the Democratic and Prosperous Macau Association which garnered 5.84 percent of the popular vote.
The other two members of the non-establishment camp in the legislature are civil service unionist Jose Pereira Coutinho of the New Hope group and Sulu Sou Ka Hou who ran for the Macau New Progress Association. Their groups won 8.23 percent and 5.34 percent of the popular vote respectively. The non-establishment quartet won 26.1 percent of the votes in the 2017 direct election.
Four years ago, 25 lists competed in the direct election. A total of 174,872 votes were cast, amounting to a voter turnout of 57.22 percent
Macau's legislature comprises 33 members, 14 directly elected by popular vote, 12 indirectly elected by association representatives and seven appointed by the chief executive. The election system is based on proportional representation.
Veteran non-establishment lawmaker Au Kam San talks to reporters on the sidelines of Friday’s Spring Media Luncheon hosted by the Macau Legislative Assembly at the Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Centre. Photo courtesy TDM
