The Electoral Affairs Commission for the Legislative Assembly Election holds a work meeting.
Electoral Affairs Commission calls for steps to ensure convenience for any on-duty worker to vote on 14 September
(Macao – 19 August 2025) Civil servants and employees either of public-capital enterprises or concessionaire companies – while obligated to maintain election-related neutrality in the execution of their workplace duties – retain their rights as citizens to participate in campaign activities outside working hours in support of their preferred candidate list, and to vote on election day, i.e., 14 September.
Public departments, public-capital enterprises, public-service concessionaires, and other concessionaire companies should make appropriate arrangements to permit and facilitate on-duty personnel to cast their respective vote.
The Chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission for the Legislative Assembly Election, Mr Seng Ioi Man, made the comments to reporters today after a work meeting of the Commission.
The Electoral Affairs Commission recently received enquiries regarding the obligations – in relation to the Legislative Assembly Election – of neutrality and impartiality for public departments, public-capital enterprises, public-service concessionaires, and other concessionaire companies; as well as enquiries regarding the voting rights of either public servants or employees of the mentioned entities, particularly their right to vote on election day.
In response, the Electoral Affairs Commission clarified the following key points for the benefit of the public:
1. Civil servants, and employees either of public-capital enterprises, public-service concessionaires or other concessionaire companies, are required to maintain neutrality while performing official duties, but as citizens, they retain the right to engage outside working hours in campaign activities supporting their preferred candidate list, and to vote on election day.
2. In accordance with Article 96 (Obligation to Cooperate) of the Legislative Assembly Election Law, entities required to maintain operations on election day must allow their workers to visit polling stations to vote during their respective shifts.
3. To this end, public departments, public-capital enterprises, public-service concessionaires, and other concessionaire companies should put in place proper arrangements to facilitate voting for on-duty workers, including providing transportation between workplace and polling station. However, campaigning for any candidate list or engaging in promotional activities during this process is strictly prohibited, in order to ensure neutrality and impartiality.
4. Normal community-organisation activities and services need not be suspended due to the election. Public entities may continue collaborating with organisations on such activities, provided they are kept separate from any election-related campaigns, to avoid contravening the Legislative Assembly Election Law.
With under one month remaining until the eighth Legislative Assembly election on 14 September, and with the campaign period set to commence shortly, all candidate lists should be intensively preparing their promotional efforts, said Mr Seng. The Legislative Assembly election is a major political event for Macao this year, and citizens have both the right and duty to participate in selecting their representatives at the Legislative Assembly.
Voters should schedule a time to vote on 14 September, Mr Seng said. Civil servants and employees either of public-capital enterprises, public-concessionaire companies or other concessionaire companies, should, in particular, lead by example, fulfil their civic duty by actively participating in the election, and encourage family and friends to join them. This served as a valuable civic-education opportunity to secure the well-being of current and future generations, he added.
Additionally, as of mid-August, approximately 4,520 registered voters had been subject to cancellation of their eligible-voter status, due either to mental incapacity, judicial ruling, or death. There were also circa 260 individuals who registered in advance but will not reach the voting age of 18 by election day. This brought the current number of eligible voters to around 328,610, down from 333,391 at the beginning of the year. Minor adjustments to the voter count may still occur before 14 September, said Mr Seng.
