The election of the 8th Legislative Assembly of the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR） Government was held successfully yesterday (14 September) and the initial counting of the votes has been completed. On behalf of the MSAR Government, Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai conveyed his congratulations to the 14 directly-elected legislators and the 12 indirectly-elected legislators who had been elected to sit in the Legislative Assembly and expressed his thanks to all registered voters who had participated in the election.
Mr. Sam also expressed that the dedication of staff from the Electoral Affairs Commission for the Legislative Assembly Election, public departments and all civil servants had been an indispensable element in guaranteeing the success of the elections. The entire election process had been conducted in an orderly manner, including the counting of the votes and the operations of the polling stations. The traffic of the polling locations and their neighbourhood was properly maintained and attentive services were provided to voters in the polling stations. Registered voters actively responded to the election to exercise their civic duty. The total voter turnout was 175,272 and the turnout rate was 53.35%. With the concerted efforts from all sectors of the community, a lawful, fair, impartial and clean environment had been maintained for the election.
On behalf of the MSAR Government, Mr. Sam extends his gratitude to those in the electorate that had exercised their right to vote and to all election teams, civil servants and the public security forces for taking part in the polls. His appreciation also goes to the schools and institutions for providing polling station facilities and convenience to the voters.
Mr. Sam emphasised that this year’s Legislative Assembly election is of great significance since this is the first election after last year’s amendment of the Electoral Law for the Legislative Assembly. The election was held in line with the principles of “One country, two systems”, “Macao people administering Macao”, a high degree of autonomy; strictly adhering to the fundamental principle of “patriots governing Macao”, safeguarding the constitutional order established under the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China and the MSAR Basic Law and ensuring the steady progress of the implementation of the “One country, two systems” principle.
As the election has concluded with success, the newly-elected Legislative Assembly members will soon assume office. The Government will, as always, strictly adhere to the Constitution and the M SAR Basic Law and maintain good communication and cooperation with the Legislative Assembly in order to serve the Macao community. It is hoped that these newly-elected Legislative members will advocate the spirit of patriotism, proactively participate in politics and repay the support of the voters with practical work. The Government is looking forward to working closely with the Legislative Assembly for the advancement of the economy, people’s livelihood and future betterment of Macao.
