Macao to hold chief executive election on Oct 13

The Macao Special Administrative Region government has announced that the election for its chief executive will be held on Oct 13.

An administrative order announcing the date was published in an official gazette on Monday.

The campaign budget for each candidate has been capped at MOP 6.44 million ($802,000), according to a separate administrative order, which was also published on Monday.

The government also announced a record voter turnout for the election of its Chief Executive Election Committee members, who are responsible for selecting the special administrative region's leader.

On Sunday night, the city announced the preliminary results of the election for the committee. That day, 5,521 eligible voters cast ballots for 344 of the 400 members of the committee, representing a record-high 88.12 percent turnout.

There were 348 candidates in the election, including entrepreneur Pansy Ho Chiu-king and former Macao chief executive Fernando Chui Sai-on. Based on data from various election stations, there were 5,346 valid ballots, 157 invalid ballots and 18 blank ballots submitted.

The record-breaking voter turnout was due to the increased participation of voters in the electoral process, the Macao government said.

More than 120 elected candidates will be new faces on the committee and are expected to bring "fresh perspectives" to the body, the government added.

The other seats on the committee include six representatives nominated by the city's religious sector and 12 ex officio seats belonging to the Macao delegates to the National People's Congress, the country's top legislature.

The committee will also have 22 members who are Macao legislators, 14 who are part of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and two who serve in municipal administrative bodies.

The election results will be verified by the General Audit Committee and submitted to the Court of Final Appeal before being officially published.

All candidates running for election are required to support the Macao Basic Law, pledge their allegiance to the Macao Special Administrative Region and agree to undergo screening by the city's National Security Commission, as required by the amended Chief Executive Election Law enacted on Jan 1 to highlight the "patriots administering Macao" principle.

According to Annex I of the Macao Basic Law, the city's chief executive is elected by a 400-member committee that is broadly representative, and each would-be candidate must obtain nominations from at least 66 members of the committee to be allowed to run for the post.