Registration period for candidates to the Chief Executive Election Committee to start next week

MACAU, June 15 - The Electoral Affairs Commission for the Chief Executive Election has issued a reminder that 17 June (Monday) is the closing date for eligible legal-person voters to register for the right to have a role in the selection process regarding the formation of the Chief Executive Election Committee.

The President of the Electoral Affairs Commission, Ms Song Man Lei, told reporters after a Commission meeting on Friday (14 June) that as of 12pm that day, the Commission had received in total 369 copies by eligible legal-person voters of the “registration form for assigning representatives to sign the nomination form” for candidates to the Chief Executive Election Committee. The figure represented 48 percent of the aggregate number of eligible legal-person voters, she added.

Those eligible legal-person voters that had not yet filed the relevant registration form should submit one before 5.45pm on Monday, to the Public Administration Building on Rua do Campo.

Legal-person voters – i.e., registered associations with voting power for the Chief Executive Election Committee – should register their interest in the process by the 17 June deadline. The representative chosen by each legal-person voter will then be authorised to nominate candidates for the Chief Executive Election Committee.

The date for the Chief Executive Election Committee polling – which will choose most of the Committee’s members – has been set for 11 August. A 400-member Chief Executive Election Committee will subsequently elect the sixth-term Chief Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region.

At present, all electoral work and election procedures had been progressing in a smooth and orderly manner, and as scheduled. It was expected that subsequent procedures would also unfold as planned, Ms Song told reporters.

The Commission had gradually published – after verifying their eligibility – the names of the representatives chosen by each legal-person voter, with the power to nominate candidates to the Chief Executive Election Committee, said Ms Song. The list is available on the Chief Executive Election website (www.eve.gov.mo).

Confirmed representatives could then in turn collect the nomination forms for candidates to the Chief Executive Election Committee. Each representative will receive the same number of nomination forms as of seats in the Chief Executive Election Committee allocated to the sector or subsector of the legal-person voter the representative is linked to.

Ms Song said next week marked another important stage for the process of electing members of the Chief Executive Election Committee.

Individuals interested in becoming members of the Chief Executive Election Committee may start registering as candidates from Tuesday (18 June). The closing date is 2 July.

Before registering with the Commission their interest in sitting on the Chief Executive Election Committee, such candidates must meet certain criteria. They should: be registered as individual voters; have membership in relevant ungroup associations or subsector; and obtain nominations from at least 20 percent of the legal-person voters in a particular sector or sub-sector.

Ms Song also briefed reporters on the steps taken to optimise the voting processes relating to the Chief Executive Election Committee. The revised Chief Executive Election Law abolished the requirement of presenting a “voting certificate” when voting. In light of this, the Commission will send a notice to those with the right to vote on the membership composition of the Chief Executive Election Committee. It will provide them with an additional means to find out their designated polling stations and understand the related procedures. Relevant information will also be available online.

Such voters were advised to make sure details of their officially-registered residential address were up to date, to ensure they received the voting notice. They could make any updates via the Macao One Account platform or the voter registration website.

In addition, the amended Law on Oath of Office has come into effect. Ms Song noted that the law stipulated that Chief Executive Election Committee members must take an oath by signing a declaration in order to assume their duties. Elected members would be required to submit to the Electoral Affairs Commission a signed declaration incorporating the statutory oath.

The law clearly specified the content of the oath to be taken by Chief Executive Election Committee members in relation to assuming their duties. The Commission would prepare the necessary declaration as required by the law. The law also stated that the timing of the oath would be determined by the President of the Electoral Affairs Commission. Regarding this matter, the Commission had also discussed the timeframe for submitting the declarations and would make appropriate announcements in due course.