Macau (MNA) – The president of the Legislative Assembly (AL), Ho Iat Seng, said on Wednesday that he is still “seriously and carefully” considering if he will run as a candidate to the Macau Chief Executive (CE) President position.
The second five-year term of CE Fernando Chui Sai On will officially reach its end on December 19 of this year with preparations already on-going for electing his successor.
However, despite the election date for the 400-strong CE Electoral Committee that will elect the next CE having already been scheduled for June 14 and the Electoral Affairs Committee members having already been nominated, the head of the legislative body has again refrained from publicly announcing his candidacy, despite several analysts pointing him as the frontrunner for the main government position.
With journalists comparing the new position to a “hot kitchen” and inquiring if he considered to be ready for it, Mr. Ho stated that a “if a kitchen is hot or not it depends on how the person cooks”.
“The AL President position was also regarded as a ‘hot seat’ by the media. If society deems it necessary that I take the position, I have the responsibility to take it […] If I had the confidence I would say it today but the timing is not the right one” he said.
In the eventually of running for the position, the AL President would have to suspend his current position, however Ho Iat Seng also refrained to say if or when he would do so.
Any candidate to the position is required to present a candidacy signed by at least 50 members of the 400 Electoral Committee to the Electoral Affairs Committee during a period yet to be decided but at least 30 days before the election date, which will take place on the second half of August.
When asked if he believed he would be able to gather enough support from members of the Electoral Committee to be presented as a candidate, despite having not yet revealed his intentions to run and with the electoral period quickly approaching, the AL head only said he “had not made any lobbying yet”.
When asked if in case he was to become the Macau CE what would be the government direction in the next 10 years, Ho Iat Seng indicated that “speaking only as the AL President” after changes in any government position “we have to assess the consequences of the work conducted previously”.
“We follow the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ principle and the capitalist system in Macau. Under this premises [the AL] always focuses on improving the social well-being,” he considered.
Mr. Ho made the comments on the sidelines of the annual AL Spring Lunch with members of the media.
