The Court of Final Appeal (TUI) announced Monday that it has recognised the final result of the chief executive (CE) election held on August 31, with sole candidate Fernando Chui Sai On being re-elected.
The announcement, which was published in the Official Gazette (BO), said that since nobody had contested the result, the court acknowledged that Chui received 380 valid votes (95.96 percent) out of the 396 Chief Executive Electoral Committee members who voted. The rest were 13 blank votes and three invalid votes.
The committee has 400 members, most of them elected by association representatives. Some of the members were ex-officio members or chosen by their peers such as lawmakers and religious figures.
The statement said that after being appointed by the central government, Chui would be able to serve his new term which starts on December 20 and is slated to end on December 19, 2019.
Chui, who became Macau’s head of government in 2009, previously served as the policy secretary for social affairs and culture for 10 years under his predecessor Edmund Ho Hau Wah
Meanwhile, Vice Premier Wang Yang in Xiamen Monday congratulated Chui on his re-election, while reaffirming the central government’s backing of the joint development of Hengqin Island by Macau and Guangdong.
Chui told Wang that regional co-operation is important for Macau, adding he believed that Hengin’s development can diversify the local economy and that many small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Macau want to take part.
Wang and Chui met on the sidelines of the 18th China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT) in Xiamen. The fair ends on Thursday. Chui attended the annual fair’s opening ceremony.(macaunews/macaupost)
