Members of the grassroots New Macau Association (NMA) petitioned National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee Chairman Zhang Dejiang and Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On yesterday, calling for the election of the chief executive and all legislators by universal suffrage and the launch of political reform.
After handing in the association’s petition addressed to Zhang and Chui at the Nam Van Lake Nautical Centre to an official of the Legislative Assembly (AL), Sulu Sou Ka Hou, the vice-president of the association, told reporters his association was calling for universal suffrage for the elections of the chief executive and all legislators.
Currently, the chief executive is elected by a 300-member election committee every five years. In the legislative elections, which are held every four years, 14 of the lawmakers are directly elected by popular vote, 12 are indirectly elected by association representatives and seven are appointed by the chief executive.
New Macau Association (NMA) Vice-President Sulu Sou Ka Hou speaks to reporters yesterday after handing his group’s petition to an official of the Legislative Assembly (AL) at the Nam Van Lake Nautical Centre. Photo: Debby Seng
