Two more groups – Power of Synergy and Civic Watch, which are both headed by media personalities – have put themselves forward for this autumn’s elections to the Legislative Assembly.
Power of Synergy’s representatives submitted 500 registered voters’ signatures endorsing the list’s candidacy to the Legislative Assembly Electoral Affairs Commission (CAEAL) yesterday.
Power of Synergy ran in the legislature’s direct election four years ago when 25 candidacy lists vied for the 14 seats at stake, but none of its candidates was elected.
Ron Lam U Tou, the president of think tank Macao Synergy Association, said that his candidacy list would focus on issues such as traffic, housing, and measures enabling residents to share the fruits of the city’s economic development.
Lam, a former journalist and well-known current affairs commentator, was the first-ranked candidate of the Power of Synergy list in the 2017 direct election.
Lam said that this year’s candidacy list would comprise young people and professionals from various sectors.
Lam added that although his list was not elected four years ago, his think tank has been pushing the development of Macao’s civil society, engaging in studies and discussions on public policies and urging the government to come up with measures to improve residents’ daily lives.
Representatives of the Civic Watch list have also submitted 500 registered voters’ signatures to CAEAL.
Civic Watch ran in the 2017 direct election, when its first-ranked was elected – current lawmaker Agnes Lam Iok Fong, a former journalist.
Lam, the chairwoman of the Macao Civic Power association, said that her list would focus on issues such as housing, traffic, environmental protection, and measures helping residents keep their jobs.
A mass media scholar, Lam said that her list would be made up of education, cultural, legal, engineering and health professionals.
Lam added that it would be a “challenge” for her list to gain a “good” understanding of residents’ needs amid the ongoing Covid-19 predicament.
In the direct election four years ago, the Civic Watch list garnered 9,590 votes, while the Power of Synergy list obtained 7,162 votes.
The direct and indirect legislative elections will take place on 12 September, The Macau Post Daily reported.
The 33-member Macao 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 direct elections are based on the proportional representation system that tends to benefit small groups.
Groups running in the direct and indirect elections are known as “lists” which are newly formed or reactivated several months before the elections which are held every four years.
