Then candidate of the 2024 Chief Executive Election Sam Hou-fai presents his political platform at China-Portuguese-speaking Countries Commercial and Trade Service Platform Complex on Sept 28, 2024. - Photo: Macau Special Administrative Region Government file
MACAU, (China): Macau's former top judge Sam Hou-fai was elected the sixth-term chief executive of the Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) on Sunday (Oct 13).
The voting, which began around 10am on Sunday, ended in about 30 minutes.
President of the Electoral Affairs Commission for the Chief Executive Election Song Man-lei announced that Sam – the lone candidate in the poll - garnered 394 votes out of the 400-strong Chief Executive Election Committee, becoming the CE-designate.
A total of 398 members voted in the race and four of the ballots were blank.
Pending approval by the central government, Sam, 62, is set to succeed incumbent Chief Executive Ho Iat-seng, serving a five-year term starting from December 20.
According to the law, a candidate must obtain more than 200 votes to secure the win, with the attendance of at least two thirds of the election committee members.
The election took place at the China-Portuguese-speaking Countries Commercial and Trade Service Platform Complex on Sunday.
Citing health issues, Ho announced on Aug 21 that he would not seek a second term as the city's chief executive.
Declaring to join the race on Aug 28, Sam submitted 383 nominations from the Chief Executive Election Committee later, becoming the sole candidate in the election.
Introducing his policy platform on Sept 28, Sam pledged to fulfill the aspirations of the city's residents for a better life and to steadfastly implement "one country, two systems".
He also vowed to enhance the efficiency of governance and leverage the SAR's unique advantages to strengthen ties between the nation and Portuguese-speaking regions.
Born in Guangdong province in 1962, Sam moved to Macau in the 1980s and joined the city's first group of judicial auditors in 1995.
He was appointed president of Macau's Court of Final Appeal on Dec 20, 1999, and held the post for nearly 25 years until Aug 28 this year. - China Daily/ANN
