4 direct, 1 indirect election groups submit political platforms

2025-06-24 02:57
BY Tony Wong
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Four electoral lists yesterday submitted their respective lists of candidates and political platforms for the upcoming direct legislative election, while the sole list representing the cultural and sports sector that will run in the upcoming indirect legislative election also submitted its list of candidates and political platform yesterday.

Of the four direct election lists, candidates of three lists were elected in the 2021 direct election, namely the Progress Promotion Union (UPP), Alliance for a Happy Home, and Power of Synergy, while the Macau Creating People’s Livelihood Force list will run in the direct legislative election for the first time.

The four direct election lists and the indirect election list for the cultural and sports sector submitted their respective lists of candidates and election platforms to the Legislative Assembly Electoral Affairs Commission (CAEAL) at the Public Administration Building on Rua do Campo yesterday.

The 2025 direct and indirect legislative elections will take place on September 14.

Each direct election list must field at least four and no more than 14 candidates.

The Progress Promotion Union (UPP) list, the electoral vehicle of the influential Macau General Union of Neighbourhood Associations (commonly known as Kai Fong in Cantonese), has fielded current lawmakers Leong Hong Sai and Ngan Iek Hang as its first-ranked and second-ranked candidates for the 2025 direct election. Four years ago, the list won two seats when Leong and Ngan were the first-ranked and second-ranked candidates.

Both became legislators for the first time in the 2021 direct election.

Leong is a civil engineer by profession, while Ngan works in the banking sector.

Leong has been a candidate of the UPP list since the 2009 direct election, ranking fourth, seventh and fifth in 2009, 2013 and 2017 respectively, while Ngan ran in the direct legislative election for the first time four years ago.

The UPP list has run in the legislature’s direct election since 1992, when Macau was still under temporary Portuguese administration.

The UPP list has won one or two seats in every direct legislative election since it first took part in 1992.

The UPP list comprises 10 candidates for the upcoming direct legislative election, with Lam Ka Chun being the third-ranked candidate, who is an Air Macau pilot by profession. Lam was the list’s fifth-ranked candidate four years ago.

Speaking to reporters after submitting his electoral list’s political platform and list of candidates, Leong said that his list’s political platform will focus on issues such as youth employment, healthcare, traffic, and urban renewal.

The Alliance for a Happy Home list, the electoral vehicle of the Macau Women’s General Association (commonly known as Fu Luen in Cantonese), has fielded current lawmaker Wong Kit Cheng as its first-ranked candidate for the 2025 direct election, but current lawmaker Ma Io Fong, who was the list’s second-ranked candidate four years ago, will not seek re-election this time.

Ma first became a legislator in 2021 when he ran in the direct legislative election for the first time.

Instead, the list has fielded Loi I Weng as its second-ranked candidate.

Wong is a nurse by profession, while Loi is a teacher by profession.

Wong was first elected in the legislature’s direct election in 2013, when she was the second-ranked candidate of the Progress Promotion Union (UPP) list, which then won two seats.

Wong was re-elected in 2017, when she headed the Alliance for a Happy Home list.

The UPP list had fielded candidates from Kai Fong and candidates from Fu Luen since 2001 – when the Macau Special Administration Region (MSAR) held its first direct legislative election – until 2017 when Kai Fong candidates and Fu Luen candidates ran on two separate lists – the UPP list and the Alliance for a Happy Home list respectively.

The Alliance for a Happy Home list won one seat in the 2017 direct election, while it won two seats in the 2021 direct election.

Loi has been a candidate of the Alliance for a Happy Home list since the 2017 direct election, ranking second and seventh in 2017 and 2021 respectively.

The Alliance for a Happy Home list comprises 14 candidates for the upcoming direct legislative election, with newcomer Wong Su Cheong being the third-ranked candidate, who is a lawyer by profession.

Speaking to reporters after submitting her electoral list’s political platform and list of candidates, Wong said that her list’s political platform will focus on issues such as employment, youth development, business environment, urban construction, and the better protection of rights and benefits of women and children.

The Power of Synergy list, which won the direct election for the first time four years ago when it won one seat, has fielded current lawmaker Ron Lam U Tou as its first-ranked candidate for the 2025 direct election.

The Power of Synergy list ran in the direct election for the first time in 2017 but failed to win any seats at that time.

In both the 2017 and 2021 direct elections, Ron Lam and Johnson Ian Heng Ut were the list’s first-ranked and second-ranked candidates.

The list has again fielded Ian as its second-ranked candidate for the upcoming direct election.

Both Ron Lam and Ian previously worked for the local Chinese-language newspaper Macao Daily News.

The Power of Synergy list comprises six candidates for the upcoming direct legislative election.

Speaking to reporters after submitting his electoral list’s political platform and list of candidates, Ron Lam said that his list’s political platform will focus on issues such as local residents’ employment, improvements in residents’ well-being, strengthened support for local small- and medium-sized enterprises, and the management in public finance.

The Macau Creating People’s Livelihood Force list, which will run in the direct legislative election for the first time, has fielded Tim Wong Tak Loi (aka Alberto Wong), who heads a string of Macau-Myanmar associations, as its first-ranked candidate for the 2025 direct election.

Tim Wong previously worked as a public servant.

The list, which comprises seven candidates for the upcoming direct election, has fielded Leong Sio Iok as its second-ranked candidate.

Speaking to reporters after submitting his electoral list’s political platform and list of candidates, Tim Wong said that his list’s political platform will focus on issues such as local residents’ employment, occupational training, housing, and measures aiming to tackle the possible adverse impact of the closure of the city’s satellite casinos.


Andrew Chan slated to be replaced by Ma Chi Seng for cultural & sports sector

For the 2025 indirect election of the two seats in the cultural and sports sector, the Rising Sun Cultural and Sports Union list has fielded sitting lawmaker Angela Leong On Kei as its first-ranked candidate, while restaurateur Andrew Chan Chak Mo will not seek re-election this time.

Four years ago, Andrew Chan was the list’s first-ranked candidate, while Angela Leong was the second-ranked candidate at that time.

The list has instead fielded current appointed lawmaker Ma Chi Seng as its second-ranked candidate this time.

Speaking to reporters, Angela Leong said that her list will remain committed to promoting the development of the city’s sports and cultural sectors while constantly gathering suggestions and opinions from the two sectors’ representatives concerning the matter.

The legislature’s 12 indirectly-elected seats comprise four seats representing the city’s industrial, commercial and financial sector, three seats from the professional sector, two seats from the labour sector, two seats from the cultural and sports sector, and one seat from the social services and educational sector.

The labour sector is the only sector where more than one list will run in the upcoming indirect election, while only one list will run for each of the other four sectors.

Consequently, while the candidates of the two lists for the labour sector will compete for the sector’s two indirectly-elected seats, all candidates of the other four sectors’ electoral lists are slated to be elected uncontested.

The number of candidates fielded by each indirect election list must be the same as the respective sector’s number of seats. Consequently, each electoral list for the cultural and sports sector is required to field two candidates. 

Current direct-elected lawmaker Wong Kit Cheng (centre), the first-ranked candidate of the Alliance for a Happy Home list, speaks to reporters at the Public Administration Building yesterday as the list’s second-ranked candidate Loi I Weng (left) smiles and third-ranked candidate Wong Su Cheong looks on. 

Flanked by his fellow candidates, Tim Wong Tak Loi (front), the first-ranked candidate of the Macau Creating People’s Livelihood Force list, speaks to reporters at the Public Administration Building on Rua do Campo yesterday. – Photos: Maria Cheang Ut Meng


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