The members of the Chief Executive (CE) Election Committee, the body that is ultimately responsible for selecting the next head of the Macao government, will be decided by a vote on 11 August.
The date was announced as part of an executive order signed by the incumbent CE, Ho Iat Seng, last Friday, and indicates that the process to find his successor has officially begun.
In accordance with Macao’s constitutional document, the Basic Law, the CE is elected by a 400-strong committee vetted by the central government.
Another order, signed on the same day, revealed the members of the election administrative committee. They include chairman Song Man Lei, the first female judge on Macao’s highest court, as well as committee members Mai Man Ieng, an assistant prosecutor general, and Seng Ioi Man, president of the collegial panels at the Lower Court.
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A date for the upcoming CE election has yet to be officially announced, although the law states that it must be held at least 60 days before the incumbent’s full term is completed, meaning that Ho is required to schedule the election before 20 October.
Speculation abounds over whether the current CE will run for another five-year term, with Ho indicating at a press conference last November that he had not made up his mind. Earlier this year, he continued to reiterate that he “would not make any announcements for the time being.”
Other high ranking officials have been put forward as potential candidates, including Ho’s second in command, André Cheong, who has said that he has not considered the idea. The security chief Wong Sio Chak and top finance official Lei Wai Nong are also names that have been mentioned.
The next CE will take office on 20 December, with a term that lasts until 31 December 2028. Ho is the third CE in the SAR’s history, having succeeded Fernando Chui Sa On on 20 December 2019 in an election in which he was the sole candidate.
