Voting starts for legislative election in Macao

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Elections for the Macao Special Administrative Region's sixth Legislative Assembly are being held as the city is slowly recovering from the devastation after Typhoon Hato.

37 polling stations opened to voters between 9 a.m. (01:00 GMT) and 9 p.m. (13:00 GMT) on Sunday. Turnout is expected to be higher than the 55 percent who voted in the region's last election in 2013.

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There are a total of 307,020 eligible voters in the direct election, up 11.23 percent from the previous election in 2013.

Voters told CGTN that their focus at this year’s election is on livelihood-related issues such as housing, transportation and infrastructure, especially in the aftermath of the damage caused by Typhoon Hato.

In line with the provisions of the Basic Law, the new legislature will be composed of 33 seats including 14 directly-elected seats, 12 indirectly-elected seats, and the seven others appointed by the region's chief executive.

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A total of 186 candidates will run for the directly-elected seats, while 15 candidates from six vocational groups will run for the indirectly-elected seats.

After Election Day, the results will be officially announced on October 4. Many other legal procedures will be carried out afterwards to ensure the smooth operation of the incoming legislature.

Macao approved a revised electoral law in 2016, with amendments aimed at ensuring that the election process would be conducted with integrity and fairness.

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Legislation requires 25,000 MOP security deposit from candidates and compels them to register campaign activities 25 days before holding them.

Macao’s revised electoral regulations for the Legislative Assembly, approved in 2016, explicitly state that Macao’s casino concessionaires cannot, either directly or indirectly, intervene in electoral campaign activities; nor can they carry out actions that will favor or harm one electoral ticket.

In previous elections, there were complaints by candidates that some casino operators were allegedly promoting to their workforce – namely in back-of-the-house areas – opposing candidates.

The gaming industry is the single-biggest employer in Macao. According to the city’s latest employment survey, the sector employed more than 80,000 workers in the first quarter of 2017.

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This year will see the participation of a local gaming activist group competing seats in the Legislative Assembly for the first time.

(CGTN's Mao Dan also contributed to this story. )

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