Chui Sai On wins Macao chief executive-designate

Chui Sai On was elected the fouth- term chief executive-designate of China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) here on Sunday, waiting for the approval by China's central government.

The incumbent Chief Executive Chui won 380 votes from the 396 Election Committee members, who attended the voting, winning the election with 95.96 percent of all voters, higher than the 95.27 percent in the previous ballot.

The Election Committee comprises 400 members, increased from 300 members of the previous election, according to the region's Method for the Selection of the Chief Executive.

The Election Committee members started their voting at 10:00 (2: 00 GMT) at Macao International Convention Center of Macao East Asian Games Dome.

According to the selection method, the voting is only legitimate upon the attendance of two thirds of the total 400 Election Committee members, and a candidate must obtain votes from more than half of the members at present to secure the seat.

As the sole candidate of the election for the forth-term chief executive of China's Macao SAR, Chui's current tenure ends on Dec. 19. He announced his running for re-election on July 15.

According to the Basic Law of the Macao SAR, the chief executive, with a five-year tenure for each term, shall be elected by a broadly representative Election Committee in accordance with the law and appointed by China's central government.

Chui said at a press conference after the election that winning the election is the start to embrace new challenges for Macao as well as to implement his election declaration. He pledged to fully devote himself to conducting the principle of "One Country, Two Systems," while improving people's livelihood in Macao.

An official from the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao SAR said the chief executive election was the first such since the central government settled Macao's constitutional development in 2012.

The official said during the election process, the chief executive candidate has listened to the opinions of different sectors from the society, and received active response from the public, reflecting the successful implementation of the Basic Law of the Macao SAR and the "One Country, Two Systems" principle.

The official believes that Chui will lead Macao people to seize the opportunities and tackle the challenges to usher in a brighter future for Macao with the support from the central government.

Meanwhile, on behalf of the Hong Kong SAR government, Hong Kong 's Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying expressed congratulations on Chui's winning of the election, adding Chui has always been serving Macao citizens wholeheartedly.

Leung said Hong Kong and Macao remain close cooperation, and should continue the mutual support to cement the prosperity and stability in the two regions as well as in the whole Pearl River Delta region.

Born in Macao in 1957, Chui holds a bachelor's degree in Community Health from California State University, and a master's degree and PhD of Public Health from the University of Oklahoma. He has served as the third-term chief executive of the Macao SAR since 2009.