The long-established Progress Promotion Union (UPP), a group consisting of community leaders and members of the Macau General Association of Neighbourhood Unions (UGAMM; commonly known as Kai Fong) and the Macau Women’s General Association (AGMM; commonly known as Fu Luen), submitted 500 signatures Thursday to the Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau (SAFP), in the first step towards running in the Legislative Assembly (AL) elections on September 15.
Iong Weng Ian, a representative of the group, told reporters that there will be 10 candidates running under the UPP banner, with lawmaker Ho Ion Sang, who serves as a vice president of Kai Fong, as the first candidate.
She told The Macau Post Daily that Fu Luen Vice President Wong Kit Cheng would be the group’s second candidate, but did not reveal the names for the rest of the list.
Each list must have at least four and no more than 14 candidates.
Iong predicted that this year’s election would be a close race. But she nonetheless said that the group “would do its best to gain voters’ support and win one more [directly-elected] seat… so they can continue to fight for the public’s interests.”
A total of 14 directly elected seats will be up for grabs.
The UPP is the eighth group so far to submit their nomination signatures to the bureau. Other groups interested in running for the election can still hand in the nomination signatures until June 28.
Each group planning to run in the direct legislative elections, which are held every four years, must submit at least 300 and no more than 500 signatures endorsing their bid to the government.
The group, who has been running in the legislative elections since the early 1990s, only managed securing enough votes for Ho to take a seat in the 2009 ballot. It had two seats before that.(macaunews)
