Lei Kit Meng, who heads the electoral group Pink Loves the Population, said yesterday his group had decided to withdraw from the September 17 direct legislative election since his group wanted to use its “limited time and resources” to help those who were affected by Typhoon Hato which hit Macau last week.
It is the first time since the establishment of the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) that a group has quit the election race after it had officially joined it.
The direct and indirect legislative elections will take place on September 17 while the official campaign period runs from Saturday to September 15. The number of groups running in the direct election now stands at 24 while the total number of candidates has dropped from 191 to 186.
Lei’s group was to be listed as “No. 5” on the ballot papers. Even after the withdrawal of Lei’s group, both the number of groups and
candidates – constitute an all-time local record.
Lei, chairman of the Workers’ Self-Help Union, was the firstranked candidate of Pink Love the Population which comprised five
candidates.
An informed source told The Macau Post Daily yesterday that Lei’s group had submitted its application for withdrawal from the election to the Legislative Assembly Electoral Affairs Committee (CAEAL).
Speaking to The Macau Post Daily in a phone interview, Lei confirmed that his list had withdrawn from the election race, adding that
his group handed in the request yesterday afternoon.
Lei said Typhoon Hato had seriously affected residents’ lives, adding that since his group’s chance of winning a seat in the legislature was low as it was the first time that it was taking part in the election process, his group had decided to use its “limited resources and time” to help get Macau back on its feet after the killer typhoon.
Asked whether his group had been under pressure to quit the race, Lei replied: “Of course not! There’s no pressure [of this kind] in Macau.”
Wan Kuok Koi, popularly known as Broken Tooth Koi, who served a 15-year prison sentence for organised crime leadership and other crimes, published an advertisement in the Chinese-language newspaper Macao Daily News on Tuesday saying that he supported a “fair” and “clean” election. However, he also said he would never support or join any electoral group’s campaign activities. He did not elaborate.
Lei is Wan’s brother-in-law. Asked by The Macau Post Daily if the number and name of Lei’s group would be printed on the ballot
papers, a spokesperson for the committee said in a phone interview that it would discuss the matter in a meeting, adding that the committee would announce its decision in due course.
The committee said in a statement last night that the number of each group on the ballot papers in the direct election would remain
unchanged. Consequently, the rival groups will continue to be numbered from 1 to 25 – even though only 24 groups will still be in the running.
The statement also said if voters put a stamp in the box next to a group which has withdrawn from the elections on their ballot paper,
the committee would regard the vote as void.
This file photo taken on January 3 shows Lei Kit Meng addressing a press conference at the Macau Civil Servants Association (ATFPM) about the government’s “steep” increase in vehicle-related fines and fees. Photo: Annie Cheung
