Government respects court ruling over ballots

The Government have full respects to the ruling by the Court of Final Appeal yesterday over void ballots of the Legislative Assembly Election, the Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, said today. Speaking to the press after attending the National Day reception, Mr Ho said that apart from the disputes over the definition of void ballots, the entire election process was smooth. We had to draw a lesson from the election, especially from the aspects of election guidelines and promotion, as some voters were not familiar with marking ballot papers with a stamp, he said. The Government will review on the entire procedures, study the necessity of revising the Legislative Assembly Election Law and give precise guidelines to the staff of polling stations. As for the seven appointed legislators, Mr Ho said the Government would announce their names early next week. He had exchanged ideas with the Chief Executive-designate Mr Chui Sai On over these members. Mr Ho is to visit Beijing tomorrow to attend the National Day celebrations. He said that he would be very proud to attend the celebrations as the Chief Executive of the Macao SAR.