The Electoral Affairs Commission for the Legislative Assembly Election today announced locations of 36 polling venues for the upcoming Legislative Assembly Election.
One of the 36 venues will contain two polling stations, thus making available a total of 37 polling stations in the election. The indirect election will be held in a single venue – Macao Polytechnic Institute – which will accommodate five polling stations for the purpose.
All polling stations will be opened from 9am to 9pm on election day, 17 September. Detailed information – in official languages Chinese and Portuguese – about polling stations is available on the Commission’s website: http://www.eal.gov.mo/.
The Commission made the announcement following Executive Order 222/2017, which was published today in the Macao SAR Gazette. The Executive Order stipulates where on Macao peninsula, Taipa island and Coloane island registered Macao voters can exercise their voting rights for the Legislative Assembly Election.
Six more polling stations are available for September’s election compared to the number in use for the 2013 election. The increase was due to an increase in the number of registered voters, with the total now standing at more than 300,000.
The Commission follows the “single station in each district” principle when selecting a polling venue, with the aim of maintaining smooth and orderly operation for each station.
According to the Legislative Assembly Election Law, factors for the Commission to consider when selecting a polling venue include: convenience of access for voters; the facility’s capacity; and its safety. Members of the Commission inspected those sites earmarked as new polling venues as well as some used in previous elections, in order to evaluate facilities and arrangements at those places, including access provision for elderly voters and for people with special needs.
Polling venues were selected on the basis they had minimal obstacles to access; the aim being to encourage voters to exercise their voting rights and duties on election day.
In addition, the Commission is to send to each voter – starting in early August – a notice regarding the location of their respective polling station. The Commission expects to complete this task by early September.
Voters that did not provide an update of their address could not assume they would be asked to cast their vote at the same polling venue they used for the 2013 election. This was because the Commission did not want to concentrate a large number of voters in just a few polling venues.
Should voters fail to receive their poll notice by early September, there would be various channels by which voters could check their polling station location. Details of such arrangements are to be announced soon.