Three indirect election Lists have submitted their respective candidates and political platforms to the Legislative Assembly Electoral Affairs Commission (CAEAL) for the upcoming indirect legislative election on 12 September.
The five electoral Lists for the upcoming indirect election are: 1) the Union of Macao Business Interests for the industrial, commercial and financial sector; 2) the Joint Candidacy Committee of Employees Associations for the labour sector; 3) the Union of Macao Professionals’ Interests for the professional sector; 4) the Social Service and Education Promotion Association for the social services and educational sector; and 5) the Rising Sun Cultural and Sports Union for the cultural and sports sector.
Three Lists, for the industrial, commercial and financial sector, the professional sector, and the social services and educational sector, submitted their respective candidates and political platforms to CAEAL on Friday.
The Union of Macao Business Interests has fielded sitting lawmakers Kou Hoi In, José Chui Sai Peng, Ip Sio Kai and Wang Sai Man as its candidates. Kou is the president of the Legislative Assembly.
Kou, a local deputy to the National People’s Congress, said that his electoral List will focus on issues such as financial support measures for local businesses amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, particularly for the tourism sector.
The Union of Macao Professionals’ Interests has fielded sitting lawmakers Chui Sai Cheong, Vong Hin Fai and Chan Iek Lap as its candidates.
Chui Sai Cheong, who is the vice-president of the local legislature, said that his electoral List will continue to urge the government to draft bills that would improve the regulation of various professional sectors and help improve residents’ daily lives.
Current lawmaker Chan Hong, who was the candidate of the Social Service and Education Promotion Association List four years ago, will not seek re-election this time. Instead, this electoral List has fielded current directly-elected banker and lawmaker Alan Ho Ion Sang.
Ho is a senior board member of the Macao General Union of Neighbourhood Associations (known as Kai Fong in Cantonese), whose electoral List Progress Promotion Union submitted its list of candidates and political platform to the CAEAL last week for the upcoming direct election.
Ho said that his electoral List will urge the government to strengthen its investments in the city’s social services and educational sector, to improve the city’s social security system and draft bills that would improve the lives of the disabled.
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.
In related news, the number-one candidate of the Macao Victory electoral list, Lo Chun Seng, submitted his list of candidates and political platform to CAEAL on Friday. The Macao Victory List will run in the direct election for the first time and comprises five candidates.
Lo said that his electoral List will focus on supporting the city’s underprivileged groups, particularly senior citizens. Lo, who was accompanied by his mother when he submitted the candidate list and political platform, said that he took his mother with him as an indication that he would “fully” dedicate himself to the issue of senior citizens’ rights.
A total of 19 electoral Lists will run in the upcoming direct election. Four years ago, 25 Lists competed for the 14 directly-elected seats in the legislature’s hemicycle.
