2025 Macanese legislative election
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14 of the 33 seats in the Legislative Assembly | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Legislative elections are expected to be held in Macau on 14 September 2025.[1] The elections will return 33 members of the Legislative Assembly of Macau, with 14 directly elected by all electorates, 12 indirectly elected by special interest groups and seven appointed by the Chief Executive 15 days after the announcement of the election results.[citation needed]
As a result of the mass disqualification in the last election, more than a dozen of pro-democracy members, including former legislators, are barred from running in this election under the five-year ban.[2]
Nomination
[edit]The authorities confirmed a total of eight candidate lists for the direct election of 14 seats after the end of nomination period, marking the lowest since the handover.[3] Among the eight "nomination panels", five were from the pro-Beijing camp and only one from pro-democracy camp, after majority of them were disqualified in 2021. Macau Creating People’s Livelihood Force (澳門創建民生力量) ran in the election for the first time, hoping to prioritise local employment and social welfare and housing.[4]
The team led by Wong Wai-man, the workman popularly known as "Captain Macau" for his eyebrow-raising stance on politics, was disqualified due to insufficient endorsements after majority of signatures were found ineligible. He was arrested days before the end of the nomination period for illegal mahjong operations.[5]
Disqualification
[edit]Under new rules introduced in 2024 mirroring those in Hong Kong, all candidates must be screened before validating their nomination to determine whether they are "patriots". All candidates are required to uphold the Basic Law and to pledge allegiance to the country.[5]
Electoral Affairs Commission announced that 12 candidates from two lists, Synergy Power and Macau Creating People’s Livelihood Force, are ineligible for the direct election. The commission said the Committee for Safeguarding National Security (similar to that of Hong Kong), after eligibility reviews, determined that some candidates were "not supportive" and "not allegiant" to the People’s Republic of China and Macau Special Administrative Region. The disqualified candidates are barred from appealing against the verdict under national security laws.[6] Macanese government strongly supported the decision which fully implement the fundamental principle of "Macau governed by patriots".[7]
Ron Lam U Tou, the incumbent moderate legislator from the Synergy Power, said he was surprised but remained calm with clear conscience, adding that he firmly believes that "sunshine always follows the storm". Tim Wong Tak Loi, a former civil servant who led another disqualified list at his first bid, said he respected the decision and reaffirmed his "unchanged" patriotic stance.[6] Au Kam San, lawmaker disqualified in 2021, said this decision targeted candidates that were not even from the opposition and was evident in suppressing any voices that the government deemed were not patriotic enough.[8]
Results
[edit]| Party | Seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Macau United Citizens Association | – | – | |
| Union for Development | – | – | |
| Macau-Guangdong Union | – | – | |
| Union for Promoting Progress | – | – | |
| Alliance for a Happy Home | – | – | |
| Pro-Beijing camp | – | – | |
| New Hope | – | – | |
| Pro-democracy camp | – | – | |
| Functional constituencies and appointees | |||
| Macau Union of Employers Interests | – | 0 | |
| Macau Union of Professional Interests | – | – | |
| Excellent Culture and Sport Union | – | 0 | |
| Federation of Employees Associations | – | 0 | |
| 職工社團聯會 | – | 0 | |
| Association for the Promotion of Social Services and Education | – | – | |
| Chief Executive appointees | 7 | 0 | |
| Total | 7 | 0 | |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Legislative Assembly elections set for 14 Sep". Macau Business. 2025-03-03. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
- ^ "澳門9月14日舉行立法會換屆選舉". i-CABLE (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 2025-03-03. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
- ^ "澳門立法會選舉 8組別能派代表爭14席直選 獲確認組別歷來最少 「澳門隊長」黃偉民未能入閘". 明報新聞網 - 即時新聞 instant news (in Traditional Chinese). 2025-06-16. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
- ^ "Macao parties have begun submitting candidates for the legislative election". Macao News. 2025-06-24. Retrieved 2025-07-02.
- ^ a b "Eight candidacy attempts confirmed for 2025 legislative election". Macau Business. 2025-06-16. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
- ^ a b "12 candidates barred from legislative election over loyalty criteria, including incumbent Ron Lam". Macau Business. 2025-07-15. Retrieved 2025-07-22.
- ^ "Disqualified Legislative Assembly election candidate sees review request rejected". Macau Business. 2025-07-18. Retrieved 2025-07-22.
- ^ 《追新聞》記者 (2025-07-16). "明日香港｜澳門立會選舉「建制派外圍」12人被DQ 前議員指政治雜音清零澳門人怒火中燒". 追新聞 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 2025-07-22.
