The Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) said in a statement yesterday that it had completed investigations into an alleged bribery case concerning the provision of free local trips, meals and gifts by trustee of a nominating committee for the 2021 elections of the 7th Legislative Assembly (AL) to more than 200 residents in order to collect enough voters’ signatures to submit the nomination application form for the group to the Legislative Assembly Electoral Affairs Commission (CAEAL).
The statement did not identify the group that allegedly offered the bribes.
The elections of the 7th Legislative Council took place on September 12 last year, when a total of 14 groups vied for the 14 directly-elected seats at stake.
According to the government, the officially required maximum is 500 signatures from registered voters on a candidacy list while the minimum number is 300. Each registered voter can only endorse one candidacy list.
After a referral by the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), according to the statement, CCAC investigators discovered that the trustee of the group, together with a tour guide, organised a half-day local tour for residents, arranged catering and distributed gifts, such as laundry detergents and umbrellas bearing the slogan “Please vote for the group”, all of which were funded by the trustee, with over 200 voters attracted to fill in their personal information and sign their names on the nomination application forms for the group.
During the investigation, the statement noted, several voters admitted that they had been informed via mobile app or by word of mouth that they could receive free travel and catering after they signed the forms for the group, adding that they were also organised to have their photos taken outside the Public Administration Building on Rua do Campo before setting out on the sightseeing trip.
The trustee, tour guide and more than 200 voters’ case files have been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP). The suspects face up to eight years behind bars for electoral corruption, according to the statement.
This undated handout photo provided by the Legislative Assembly Electoral Affairs Commission (CAEAL) shows the Macau Legislative Assembly Building in Nam Van.
