According to preliminary figures published on the website of the Legislative Assembly’s Electoral Affairs Commission (CAEAL), almost 175,300 of the more than 328,500 voters cast their ballots.
Despite the increase in turnout compared to 2021, participation still fell short of the all-time high of 59.9% set in 2009, an election in which three pro-democracy lists ran. On the other hand, the total number of voters was the highest ever, as the number of voters also registered a new high.
Five years ago, Macau recorded the highest abstention rate since the Chinese region was created (57.6%), and more than 5,200 people voted blank or null, after the electoral commission excluded five lists and 21 candidates, 15 of whom were pro-democracy.
This year, there were six direct vote candidates, eight fewer than in 2021 and the lowest number since 1988, when Macau’s parliament had only five members chosen by direct vote.
In July, the Committee for the Defence of State Security, whose chairman is Sam Hou Fai, excluded all 12 candidates from two lists, deeming them “not defenders of the Basic Law or not loyal to the MSAR [Macau Special Administrative Region]”.
The disqualification affected the Strength of People’s Livelihood in Macau list, led by social worker Alberto Wong, who was running for the Legislative Assembly (LA) for the first time.
The other list excluded was Poder da Sinergia (Power of Synergy), led by, until now, deputy Ron Lam U Tou and one of the few voices critical of the executive in the AL, which in the last elections in 2021 had been the seventh most voted, with 8,764 votes.
Residents of the Chinese semi-autonomous region went to the polls to elect 14 of the 33 members of parliament by direct ballot. Another 12 are chosen by indirect suffrage, through associations in five sectors: industry, commerce and finance; labour; the liberal professions; social services and education; and culture and sports.
In the indirect ballot, 88.1% of the more than 7,500 representatives of associations voted, although only one sector had more than one list of candidates. The government leader will later appoint seven MPs.
Platform with Lusa
