The last two electoral Lists have made their formal submission to the Legislative Assembly Electoral Affairs Commission (CAEAL) for the direct legislative election on 12 September.
Both the Platform for Youngsters and Macao Basic Law Promotion Alliance are running for the first time.
A CAEAL spokesman said that all 19 direct election Lists and five indirect election Lists had submitted their candidates and political platforms ahead of yesterday’s deadline.
Platform for Youngsters will field six candidates, while the Macao Basic Law Promotion Alliance List consists of seven candidates.
Platform for Youngsters will be headed by Leong Wai Meng, a senior board member of the International Lusophone Markets Business Association, while the Macao Basic Law Promotion Alliance List will be headed by Zhou Xinzheng, the director of local newspaper Macao Legal Paper.
Leong said that her List t would focus on young people’s employment and business startups and the operation of local small- and medium-sized enterprises during the Covid-19 pandemic, and Macao’s integration into the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area
Leong said that while she and her fellow candidates are newcomers to the election, she believed that her List would be supported by residents due to her list’s commitment to serving civil society.
Zhou, a legal scholar, said that his List would concentrate on promoting the content and spirit of the Macao Basic Law to residents, increased efficiency in the public administration, and reforms on the operation of the Legislative Assembly. He said that his List would also strive to contribute to the sound operation of Macao’s rule of law.
Zhou said that he has been highly interested in Macao’s laws since he moved to Macao from the mainland over 10 years ago. He said he discovered that laws in Macao seriously lag behind the city’s economic development, adding that that’s why he has decided to seek to become a lawmaker so as to contribute to the city’s legislation work.
Each direct election list must have at least four and no more than 14 candidates.
A total of 19 electoral Lists will run in the upcoming direct election. Four years ago, 25 candidacy Lists vied for the 14 seats at stake. In 2017, one of the Lists quit the race before polling day.
For each of the five indirect election sectors, only one electoral list will take part in the upcoming indirect legislative election, meaning that all candidates are slated to be elected uncontested.
The 33-member Legislative Assembly comprises 14 deputies directly elected by universal suffrage, 12 deputies indirectly elected by association representatives and seven deputies appointed by the chief executive after the direct and indirect elections. Macao’s legislative elections are held in line with the proportional representation system.
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.
