In yesterday’s indirect Legislative Assembly (AL) election of the two seats in the labour sector, sitting lawmaker Lam Lon Wai was re-elected, while incumbent legislator Lei Chan U, who did not seek re-election this time, was replaced by newcomer Leong Pou U.
Two candidacy groups comprising four candidates were competing for the labour sector’s two seats in yesterday’s indirect election.
Only association representatives can vote in Macau’s indirect election.
The legislature’s 12 indirectly-elected seats comprise four seats representing the city’s industrial, commercial and financial sector, three seats from the professional sector, two seats from the labour sector, two seats from the cultural and sports sector, and one seat from the social services and educational sector.
The labour sector was the only sector where more than one group was running this time, while only one candidacy group was running for each of the other four sectors.
The number of candidates fielded by each indirect election group must be the same as the respective sector’s number of seats.
Consequently, there were a total of 14 candidates fielded by six electoral groups vying for the 12 seats at stake in yesterday’s indirect legislative election.
All candidates of the other four sectors’ electoral groups were running unopposed yesterday and, consequently, their election was a fait accompli.
In the 2021 indirect election, only one candidacy group ran for each of all five sectors, meaning that all of the then 12 candidates were elected unopposed.
The number of candidates only once before also exceeded the number of seats at stake in the 2017 indirect election, after 2001 when the Macau Special Administration Region (MSAR) held its first indirect legislative election.
In the 2017 indirect election, two indirect election candidacy groups comprising six candidates were competing for the professional sector’s three seats.
In the 2025 indirect election yesterday, according to last night’s announcement by the Legislative Assembly Electoral Affairs Commission (CAEAL), a total of 6,645 voters cast their ballots, amounting to 88.12 percent of the total number of registered indirect-election voters.
The voter turnout in 2021 was 87.33 percent.
In yesterday’s indirect election of the four seats in the industrial, commercial and financial sector, the Union of Macau Business Interests list fielded two of its sitting lawmakers as its candidates, while Kou Hoi In and Wang Sai Man did not seek re-election this time.
The group fielded José Chui Sai Peng, 65, and Ip Sio Kai, 64, who were the second and third-ranked candidates in the indirect election four years ago, as its first and second-ranked candidates for the 2025 indirect election, while it fielded incumbent directly-elected lawmaker Si Ka Lon, 47, as its third-ranked candidate.
The group fielded local businessman Kevin Ho King Lun, 49, as its fourth-ranked candidate.
Consequently, Kou and Wang were replaced by Si and Ho in yesterday’s indirect election.
In yesterday’s indirect election of the professional sector’s three seats, all three sitting lawmakers, Chui Sai Cheong, Vong Hin Fai and Chan Iek Lap, who were the three candidates of the Union of Macau Professionals’ Interests group in the indirect election four years ago, did not seek re-election.
Instead, the group fielded incumbent appointed lawmaker Iau Teng Pio, 61, as its first-ranked candidate for the 2025 indirect election, while it fielded newcomers Vong Hou Piu, 62, and Wong Chon Kit, 47, as its second and third-ranked candidates.
Iau is an associate professor at the public University of Macau’s (UM) Faculty of Law.
Vong is an accountant by profession, while Wong is a dentist whose father was a well-known journalist.
The two groups running in yesterday’s indirect election of the labour sector’s two seats comprised the Joint Candidacy Committee of Employees’ Associations and the Union of Workers’ Associations.
The Joint Candidacy Committee of Employees’ Associations group ran in the indirect election four years ago, while the Union of Workers’ Associations group ran in the indirect legislative election for the first time.
The Joint Candidacy Committee of Employees’ Associations group fielded incumbent lawmaker Lam Lon Wai, 49, for yesterday’s indirect election, but sitting legislator Lei Chan U, who was the group’s second-ranked candidate four years ago, did not seek re-election this time.
Instead, the group fielded Kong Ioi Fai, 52, as the second-ranked candidate this time.
The new Union of Workers’ Associations group fielded Leong Pou U, 51, and Kelvin Choi Kam Fu, 47, as its first and second-ranked candidates.
According to last night’s announcement, the first-ranked candidate of the two candidacy groups for the labour sector won one seat each in yesterday’s indirect election.
In yesterday’s indirect election of the cultural and sports sector’s two seats, the Rising Sun Cultural and Sports Union group fielded sitting lawmaker Angela Leong On Kei, 64, as its first-ranked candidate, while restaurateur Andrew Chan Chak Mo did not seek re-election this time.
Four years ago, Chan was the group’s first-ranked candidate, while Leong was the second-ranked candidate at that time.
The group instead fielded current appointed lawmaker Ma Chi Seng, 47, as its second-ranked candidate this time.
Consequently, Chan was replaced by Ma in yesterday’s indirect election.
In yesterday’s indirect election of the social services and educational sector’s only one seat, the Social Service and Education Promotion Association group fielded sitting lawmaker Alan Ho Ion Sang, 63, as its candidate. Consequently, he was re-elected yesterday.
Chart of yesterday’s indirectly elected lawmakers released by the Electoral Affairs Commission for the Legislative Assembly Election (CAEAL) last night.
