The Executive Council of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) government announced Monday that it has passed a draft version of the Law of the Election of the Chief Executive of Macao SAR.

Executive Council spokesman Tong Chi Kin said that the Executive Council has passed the bill for the review and discussion at the Legislative Council, which would determine the mode of election, the requirement on candidacy, time of election, ceiling of campaign budget, as well as the method of formation of the Election Committee.

The incumbent Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah, who took office upon Macao's return to the motherland on Dec. 20, 1999, will finish his five-year term on Dec. 19. Under the bill, the election of the next Chief Executive shall be held no later than 60 days before the current office-holder's five-year term expires.

The bill suggested the setup of an election supervision committee to oversee election behaviors and fund-raising of Chief Executive candidates.

According to the bill, Macao's next Chief Executive will be elected by a 300-member election committee and then appointed by the Central People's Government, as defined by the Macao Basic Law. Only permanent Macao residents aged above 21 and who register as eligible election voters can be elected as members of the Election Committee, which comprises of representatives from all works of life.

(Xinhua News Agency February 9, 2004)