“We consulted the Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau (DSAFP), and in this case, the issue of disciplinary responsibility does not arise,” he told Lusa, when questioned about the matter following the appeal made by the Chief Executive, Sam Ho Fai, who sent a letter to all civil servants stressing that “suffrage is not only a right but also a civic duty.”
When questioned by the local press on the same issue, Seng Ioi Man nonetheless began by quoting the electoral law, which states, in Article 95, according to him, that “voting is both a right and a duty of public service workers as voters.”
The president of the Electoral Affairs Commission of the Legislative Assembly (CAEAL) also recalled that the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Government had requested public departments to “grant the necessary facilitation for civil servants on duty to participate in the electoral process.”
“We believe that public administration workers, as public servants, will, in the majority, respond to the Chief Executive’s appeal and vote at their designated polling station on September 14,” said Seng Ioi Man.
The civil service — which, according to the latest available data, had just under 34,300 employees at the end of 2023, down from more than 38,000 at the beginning of 2020 — currently represents around 10% of the total number of registered voters.
The president of CAEAL stressed that the commission did not assess the potential impact that Sam Ho Fai’s letter might have on voter turnout, emphasizing that the commission is not “targeting any specific sector.”
“The universe of eligible voters is around 320,000, so our message is addressed to all eligible voters. We did not conduct a statistical breakdown by profession or participation rate, etc., but we appeal to all voters to cast their vote on election day,” he stated.
