Golden Lotus Square is seen in Macau, China, on April 25, 2019. (Photo: China Daily/IC)
MACAO, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- The election of the seventh Legislative Assembly of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) kicked off on Sunday morning.
The seventh Legislative Assembly will be composed of 33 seats, including 14 directly-elected seats, 12 indirectly-elected seats, and seven others appointed by the Macao SAR's chief executive within 15 days after receiving the reviewed vote counting of direct and indirect election.
As the legislature of the Macao SAR, the Legislative Assembly is composed of permanent residents of the Macao SAR and the majority of its members are elected.
The term of office of the Legislative Assembly is four years, except for the first term.
In the first term, the Legislative Assembly was composed of 23 members, including eight directly-elected, eight indirectly-elected and seven appointed by the chief executive.
The Legislative Assembly in the second term was composed of 27 members, of whom 10 were directly elected, 10 indirectly elected and seven appointed by the chief executive.
The third and the fourth terms were both composed of 29 members, of whom 12 were directly elected, 10 were indirectly elected and seven were appointed by the chief executive.
The Legislative Assembly in both the fifth and sixth terms is composed of 33 members, of whom 14 were directly elected, 12 were indirectly elected and seven were appointed by the chief executive.
In accordance with the Basic Law of the Macao SAR and the election law of the Legislative Assembly, the electoral affairs commission for the Legislative Assembly election examines the qualifications of all candidates to ensure that only patriots were allowed into the SAR's governance structure.
The Legislative Assembly has a president and a vice president who are elected by and from among the assembly members.
The president and the vice president are Chinese citizens who are permanent residents of the Macao SAR and have ordinarily resided in Macao for a continuous period of no less than 15 years.
The term of office for the seventh Legislative Assembly will start in October 2021.
