Interview by Macao Daily News*
In a recent exclusive interview with the Macao Daily News, Prof. Wang Yu from the Faculty of Law at the University of Macau (UM), shared his views on the eligibility review concerning the 8th Legislative Assembly elections of the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) in September.
Prof. Wang pointed out that the eligibility review for the upcoming elections marks the first electoral practice in which the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the MSAR, under its amended electoral system, assesses whether candidates uphold the Basic Law and bear allegiance to the MSAR of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and, on this basis, issues a binding review opinion to the Electoral Affairs Commission for the Legislative Assembly elections. This practice amounts to a significant institutional innovation to implement the principle of patriots administering Macao and improve the assessment of candidates’ eligibility. Article 33 of the Legislative Assembly Election Law of the MSAR, as amended in 2024, introduces the legal criteria and enforcement mechanisms for assessing candidates’ eligibility. Specifically, Paragraph 4 of Article 33 stipulates the legal criteria for political eligibility review.
Prof. Wang noted that the eligibility review system has been formulated and evolved within the practice of the policy of “One Country, Two Systems”. Since the eligibility review system has been put in practice in Hong Kong, the city has resulted in resolute implementation of the principle of patriots administering Hong Kong, realising a new situation in which it restored order and is set to thrive. When it comes to Macao, the city has a tradition of assessing candidates’ eligibility for the Legislative Assembly elections. During the revision of the Legislative Assembly Election Law in 2016, such provision was added to Article 6 under the title “Not eligible for election”. In the runup to the 2021 Legislative Assembly elections, the Electoral Affairs Commission identified certain candidates displaying behaviours not upholding the Basic Law and not allegiant to the MSAR, and three candidacy lists were thus not eligible for standing in the election. Building upon the city’s initial accomplishments in the legal realm, the eligibility review mechanism in Macao has undergone revisions and improvements in recent years. A comprehensive array of institutional designs with distinct characteristics has been established, showcasing the wisdom in legislative election governance under the principle of “One Country, Two Systems”.
Reviewing the eligibility of candidates for the Legislative Assembly elections is not only an implementation of the principle of patriots administering Macao, but also essential for safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests. Previous experience has demonstrated that without a review of candidates’ political allegiance, the electoral system under “One Country, Two Systems” can easily be exploited by external forces to interfere in internal affairs. Since Hong Kong’s return to the motherland, certain anti-China elements seeking to destabilise Hong Kong exploited the flaws in the electoral system to infiltrate the Legislative Council, seriously hindering the effective governance of the Hong Kong SAR government, undermining social stability and leaving profound lessons to learn. Macao, an international free port and a World Centre of Tourism and Leisure with its highly open and international character and multiple cultures, is also faced with a challenging geopolitical landscape and the risk of infiltration by external forces. Across various nations worldwide, regardless of their political systems, there are mechanisms to guarantee the political allegiance of those performing public duty. What these institutional designs have in common is to ensure that individuals administering the state are committed to upholding the constitutional order. The eligibility review process for the Legislative Assembly elections in Macao is in line with general international practices.
Prof. Wang highlighted that, in the review process conducted by the Electoral Affairs Commission, the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the MSAR assesses and decides whether candidates uphold the Basic Law and bear allegiance to the MSAR of the PRC. The Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the MSAR represents the highest-level national security agency in Macao that ensures both the central government’s overall jurisdiction and a high degree of autonomy in the MSAR. Such practice has improved the prior review mechanism of the Electoral Affairs Commission of the Legislative Assembly, elevated the review levels and made the eligibility review more legitimate and authoritative.
The decision that a candidate is not eligible for standing in elections made by the Electoral Affairs Commission, based on the review decision issued by the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the Macao SAR, is not subject to motions of objection or judicial proceedings. The political eligibility review conducted by the Committee for Safeguarding National Security is different from the general candidates’ eligibility review carried out by the Electoral Affairs Commission. This process reviews the political positions of candidates and takes on great political significance. It upholds the seriousness and efficiency of the Legislative Assembly elections and serves the overall interests of the MSAR and the steady and sound advancement of the principle of “One Country, Two Systems” with Macao characteristics.
Text provided by Macao Daily News. Translation arranged and reviewed by the Post.
*Prof. Wang Yu (aka Yu Wang), is an associate director of Centre for Constitutional Law and Basic Law Studies and programme coordinator of the University of Macau’s Master of Law (Chinese Language. He holds a Ph.D. degree in Law, Peking University; Master of Law, Peking University; Bachelor’s degree of Law, Renmin University of China
