Democracy coming at ‘slow’ pace

Macau’s political reform must have universal suffrage as its goal, several representatives from the social affairs and culture sectors have said. During a public consultation session held late Tuesday, they also criticised the slow pace of democratisation.
In the previous five sessions the discussion focused on an increase of the number of directly and indirectly-elected lawmakers, with most participants stressing that the MSAR Basic Law did not point towards universal suffrage as the ultimate objective – unlike the Hong Kong mini-constitution.
But on Tuesday a member of a Macau youth association called for “a roadmap towards democracy, that should result in universal suffrage”.
The participant acknowledged that the next elections – for the Legislative Assembly (AL) in 2013 and for the Chief Executive in 2014 – would come too soon for any major changes to the political system.
Yet he believes it’s already possible to double the number of members of the electoral committee for the Chief Executive to 600, as well as to make five more seats available for direct election at the AL.
A member of the Cultural and Creative Industries Committee also criticised “the slow pace” of “the road towards democracy”. He called for the introduction of at least three more directly elected lawmakers.
Earlier this month, representatives from media associations also said the political reform being discussed in the territory should focus on introducing a roadmap to a fully democratic system.

Direct seats

There should be three more AL seats available for direct election and one more functional representative, Cultural and Creative Industries Committee member José Sales Marques said during the session.
The former head of the Macau city hall also called for a boost of 100 members to the electoral committee for the Chief Executive. The new members should be added to the cultural, sports and educational sub sector, he explained.
Other participants agreed with the increase to the committee members but vice-president of the Macau General Union of the Neighbourhood Associations said the extra seats should go to the social work area.
A member of the Women’s General Association of Macau said “a better clarification of the representation of the different sectors” was needed. In the previous session, participants also called for regulation to define the professional sector.
Unlike the previous session, reserved for urban planning and construction experts, which had weak participation, Tuesday’s session saw 34 people asking to be heard. The session’s time limit of just one and a half hours meant eight were unable to speak.
The last of eight sessions, and the only one open to all residents, took place late yesterday. A total of 657 people have applied to join the event – also lasting just one and a half hours – at the 800-seat grand auditorium of the Macau Cultural Centre.
Several voices have been asking for more sessions open to all residents to be held, accusing the government of not giving importance to public opinion.
Last week Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On spoke about the possibility of organising more sessions open to the public before the consultation period ends, on January 31. But on Monday the head of his cabinet, Alexis Tam Chon Weng stressed that not all seats at yesterday’s session were taken.