The sixth-term chief executive (CE) election was held yesterday morning at the Forum Macao Complex, and 398 electors of the 400-member CE Election Committee took part, among whom 394 voted for Sam Hou Fai and four cast blank votes, while two were absent – and elector Leonel Alberto Alves, a former legislator and lawyer by profession, said yesterday right after the poll that “Macau always needs new blood”.
Yesterday’s election was held after last year’s amendments to the Chief Executive Election Law, according to which, in order to be valid, two-thirds of the 400 members of the CE Election Committee must take part in the election, whereas a candidate must obtain more than half of the votes, i.e., at least 201, to win the election. In line with the provisions of the Macau Basic Law, “the chief executive shall be elected by a broadly representative Chief Executive Election Committee in accordance with this Law and appointed by the Central People’s Government” to become the chief executive. The five-year term of office of the sixth-term chief executive shall run from December 20, 2024 – the 25th anniversary of Macau’s return to the motherland – to December 19, 2029.
Sam, the former president of the Court of Final Appeal (TUI), had been nominated by 386 members of the CE Election Committee and was the sole candidate in the CE election. With 394 votes, he was confirmed as Macau’s sixth-term Chief Executive-elect after half an hour of voting and about an hour of ballot counting. In accordance with the provisions of the Chief Executive Election Law, the election result will be submitted to the Court of Final Appeal for confirmation, and thereafter will be published in the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Gazette, the Government Information Bureau (GCS) said in a statement.
The Chief Executive Election Committee is composed of 400 members from the industrial, commercial and financial sectors in the first sector, the cultural, education, professional and sports sectors in the second sector, the labour, social services and religious sectors in the third sector, and representatives of members of the Legislative Assembly (AL), deputies to the National People’s Congress (NPC), representatives of members of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CCPPC), and representatives of members of the municipal services in the remaining sectors.
Yesterday, the 398 electors present put their secret ballot papers into seven ballot boxes after stamping them with the special stamp provided by the Chief Executive Electoral Affairs Commission (CAECE).
Speaking to the Post and Xinhua in English after yesterday’s election, Alves, a 67-year-old elector from the committee’s sector representing professionals, said that Macau was “lucky” to be able to welcome its first chief executive from the legal field: “We are lucky to have a chief executive expert in the legal field…… the first thing that impressed me deeply is his sincerity and his personal character. I think these are the preconditions to be a very good chief executive…… Although he’s not an economist, he’s a legal expert, but I think he can gather a lot of experts [from different fields], people that know Macau, people that have the same thoughts to provide better development conditions to Macau. I think we are in a good condition to have a good government in the next future”.
Commenting on Sam to become the first chief executive to be born in the mainland, Alves said that it does not matter whether one is a Macau resident by birth or not, what Macau needs is talent: “Historically, Macau in this five centuries [under temporary Portuguese rule] always needed foreign, outside people, whether from [mainland] China or from abroad”. He went on to point out that Macau needs to attract talented people, underlining Sam’s life experience as an example: “Sam belongs to the generation that came to Macau in the 80s and these are the talented people enrooted in Macau [nowadays]… [Sam is an] example, a good magistrate and citizen who loves Macau. So, the origin of this Macau resident is not important. It only shows that we need talented people, [regardless] from Macau or from abroad”.
Talking about his expectations about the new government, Alves said he expected the new government to further update and modernise Macau’s legal framework to meet its economic and financial requirements in the short term: “I think this is a task that should be done in the next five years. And also, the governance itself [should] be more efficient in the daily affairs”.
Meanwhile, fellow elector Nick Lei Leong Wong, 39, a lawmaker-cum-social worker, told reporters before the election he hoped that the future government would improve public servants’ accountability, reorganise its bureaus and functions, as well as respond to the aspirations of the community: “I think public servants’ accountability is not a scourge system, but a fair system. I think a good accountability system for public servants not only embodies responsibility, but also creates a fair environment”.
Chief Executive Election Committee member Leonel Alberto Alves, an ex-legislator and lawyer by profession, poses after speaking to the Post and Xinhua about his views on Macau’s sixth-term Chief Executive-elect Sam Hou Fai at the Forum Macao Complex, the venue of yesterday’s chief executive election. – Photo: Yuki Lei
