The New Hope candidacy group headed by veteran lawmaker José Maria Pereira Coutinho came out top in yesterday’s direct Legislative Assembly (AL) election as it garnered the highest number of votes, at 43,361, enabling the group to win three of the 14 seats at stake for the first time.
In addition to the New Hope group, the Macau United Citizens Association (ACUM) group, which obtained the second highest number of votes, at 29,459, also won three seats in yesterday’s direct election. The group won three seats four years ago.
Only six candidacy groups ran in yesterday’s direct election, the smallest number since the first direct legislative election was held in 2001 after the establishment of the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) on December 20, 1999.
The other four candidacy groups won two seats each in yesterday’s direct election, namely the Union for Development (UPD) (27,431 votes), Progress Promotion Union (UPP) (21,745 votes), Macau-Guangdong Union (UMG) (21,461 votes), and Alliance for a Happy Home (18,751 votes).
It is the first time that the New Hope group has won three seats since it was first elected in the direct election in 2005, while the ACUM group won three seats in the 2013 direct election and the 2021 direct election, as well as this time, since it first ran in the legislature’s direct election in 2005.
Before yesterday’s direct election, the ACUM group was the only electoral group that had won three seats since the MSAR held its first direct legislative election in 2001.
The preliminary results of yesterday’s direct election were announced by the Legislative Assembly Electoral Affairs Commission (CAEAL) in the early hours of today.
Yesterday’s election of the Legislative Assembly’s 14 directly-elected seats resulted in four newcomers to the hemicycle, while the nine incumbent lawmakers seeking re-election were all re-elected yesterday. One candidate who was elected yesterday was previously an appointed lawmaker.
As the New Hope group won three seats in yesterday’s direct election, incumbent lawmakers Coutinho, 68, and Che Sai Wang, 59, were re-elected, while George Chan Hao Weng, 50, was elected for the first time.
Coutinho was first elected in the direct election in 2005 after he had failed in his first election bid in 2001. Coutinho, whose parents were born in Goa when it was still a Portuguese colony, is a prominent member of Macau’s community of mixed Portuguese-Asian descent and upbringing, customarily known as the Macanese.
Coutinho previously worked in the Economic Services Bureau (DSE) – which was upgraded to the Economic and Technological Development Bureau (DSEDT) in 2021 – where he headed the Intellectual Property Department between 1999 and 2001.
The New Hope group is the electoral vehicle of the influential Macau Civil Servants Association (ATFPM), of which Coutinho is the veteran leader.
Coutinho was re-elected in 2009, 2013, 2017 and 2021. The New Hope group won two seats in the 2013 direct election, when the group’s then second-ranked candidate Leong Veng Chai was elected. Leong failed in his re-election bid in the 2017 direct election when he was the second-ranked candidate as the group won only one seat at that time.
The New Hope group won two seats four years ago.
The group fielded Che, who was the second-ranked candidate in the 2021 direct election, only as its third-ranked candidate this time. Instead, the group fielded George Chan, who was the fourth-ranked candidate in the 2021 direct election, as its second-ranked candidate this time.
Despite having been the third-ranked candidate this time, Che succeeded in his re-election bid yesterday as the group won three seats.
Incumbent legislator Si Ka Lon, who was the first-ranked candidate of the ACUM group four year ago, ran in yesterday’s indirect election, representing the business sector. Consequently, the group fielded sitting lawmakers Becky Song Pek Kei, 40, and Nick Lei Leong Wong, 39, who were the second and third-ranked candidates in the direct election four years ago, as its first and second-ranked candidates this time.
The group fielded Chan Lai Kei, 37, as its third-ranked candidate this time.
The group once again winning three seats in yesterday’s direct election has enabled Song and Nick Lei to be re-elected while also allowing Chan to join the legislature for the first time.
The group is the electoral vehicle of the influential Alliance for Common People Building Up Macau (API), which is one of the city’s biggest community associations and is generally regarded as representing the city’s sizeable Fujianese community.
As the UPD won two seats yesterday, incumbent lawmakers Ella Lei Cheng I, 44, and Leong Sun Iok, 47, were re-elected.
The UPD group is the electoral vehicle of the influential Macau Federation of Trade Unions (commonly known as Gung Luen in Cantonese), one of the city’s biggest community associations.
The group has run in the legislature’s direct election since 1992, when Macau was still under temporary Portuguese administration.
The group has won one or two seats in every direct legislative election since it first took part in 1992.
Lei first became a lawmaker in 2013 through the indirect election, representing the labour sector, before taking part in the direct election in 2017 when she was the first-ranked candidate of the UPD direct election group. Leong Sun Iok first became a legislator in 2017 when he was the group’s second-ranked candidate. Both were re-elected in 2021.
As the UPP won two seats yesterday, incumbent lawmakers Leong Hong Sai, 58, and Ngan Iek Hang, 41, were re-elected.
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.
The UPP group has run in the legislature’s direct election since 1992, when Macau was still under temporary Portuguese administration.
The group has won one or two seats in every direct legislative election since it first took part in 1992.
The group is the electoral vehicle of the influential Macau General Union of Neighbourhood Associations (commonly known as Kai Fong in Cantonese), one of the city’s biggest community associations.
The two incumbent lawmakers fielded by the UMG group in the direct election four years ago, Zheng Anting and Lo Choi In, did not seek re-election this time. Instead, the group fielded Joey Lao Chi Ngai, 50, and Lee Koi Ian, 50, as its first and second-ranked candidates this time.
As the UMG group won two seats yesterday, Lao and Lee were elected yesterday.
Lao had never run in a direct or indirect election, but he was appointed as a lawmaker by Macau’s then chief executive Fernando Chui Sai On in 2017, while he was not re-appointed in 2021 when Ho Iat Seng was the chief executive.
Both Lao and Lee ran in the direct legislative election for the first time.
Lao is an economist, while Lee is a gold jewellery businessman.
Lao currently heads the Strategy and Planning Office of the public University of Macau (UM).
The UMG group first ran in the legislature’s direct election in 2009, when Mak Soi Kun, a building contractor, was elected.
The group won one seat in the 2009 direct election.
Since the 2013 direct election, the group has won two seats every time.
The group is the electoral vehicle of the influential Macau Jiangmen Communal Society.
As the Alliance for a Happy Home group won two seats yesterday, incumbent lawmaker Wong Kit Cheng, 43, was re-elected, while the second-ranked Loi I Weng was elected for the first time.
Sitting legislator Ma Io Fong, who was the group’s second-ranked candidate four years ago, did 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 group fielded Loi, 39, as its second-ranked candidate this time.
Wong is a Kiang Wu Hospital nurse by profession, while Loi, a teacher, is the vice-principal of the school run by the influential Macau Women’s General Association (commonly known as Fu Luen in Cantonese).
The group is the electoral vehicle of the association, one of the city’s biggest community associations.
Wong was first elected in the legislature’s direct election in 2013, and was re-elected in 2017 and 2021.
In yesterday’s direct election, the voter turnout was 53.35 percent, where 175,272 voters cast their ballots out of the 328,506 registered voters eligible to cast their ballots.
Four years ago, the voter turnout was 42.38 percent, the lowest since the MSAR held its first direct legislative election in 2001.
Compared to four years ago, voter turnout rose by 10.97 percentage points.
In yesterday’s direct election, a total of 5,987 votes were blank, while 7,077 votes were deemed invalid, according to the Electoral Affairs Commission.
Since the MSAR held its first direct legislative election, the highest voter turnout was 59.91 percent in 2009.
Yesterday’s turnout was only 6.56 percentage points lower than the one in 2009.
Chart of yesterday’s directly elected lawmakers released by the Electoral Affairs Commission for the Legislative Assembly Election (CAEAL) last night.
