Government & politics — Macau

name is thought to derive from the A-Ma Temple - built in 1488 and dedicated to Mazu, the goddess of seafarers and fishermen - which is referred to locally as "Maa Gok" - and in Portuguese became "Macau"; the Chinese name Aomen means "inlet gates"

• history: previous 1976 (Organic Statute of Macau, under Portuguese authority); latest adopted 31 March 1993, effective 20 December 1999 (Basic Law of the Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's
• Republic of China serves as Macau's constitution) amendments: proposed by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), the People’s Republic of China State Council, and the Macau Special Administrative Region; submittal of proposals to the NPC requires two-thirds majority vote by the Legislative Assembly of Macau, approval by two thirds of Macau's deputies to the NPC, and consent of the Macau chief executive; final passage requires approval by the NPC; amended 2005, 2012

• chief of state: President
• Chief Executive Sam Hou FAI (since 20 December 2024) cabinet: Executive Council
• appointed by the chief executive election/appointment process: president indirectly elected by National People's Congress for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); chief executive chosen by a 400-member Election Committee for a 5-yea
• president: 10
• March 2023 chief executive: 13
• October 2024 election results: 2024: Sam Hou FAI (unopposed;
• received 394 out of 400 votes) 2019: HO lat Seng (unopposed;
• March 2028 chief executive: 2029

Description

unicameral Legislative Assembly or Regiao Administrativa Especial de Macau (33 seats; 14 members directly elected by proportional representation vote, 12 indirectly elected by an electoral college of professional and commercial interest groups, and 7 appointed by the chief executive; members serve 4-year terms)

Elections

last held on 12 September 2021 (next to be held in September 2025)

Election Results

• percent of vote - ACUM 20.1%, UPD 18%, NE 13.8%, UMG 12.7%, UPP 11.4%, ABL 10.8%, PS 6.6%, other 6.6%
• seats by political group - ACUM 3, UPD 2, UMG 2, UPP 2, ABL 2, NE 2, PS 1
• composition NA

• highest court(s): Court of Final Appeal of Macau Special Administrative Region (consists of the court president
• and 2 associate justices) judge selection and term of office: justices appointed by the Macau chief executive upon the recommendation of an independent commission of judges, lawyers, and "eminent" persons;
• judge tenure NA subordinate courts: Court of Second Instance; Court of First instance; Lower Court; Administrative Court

• Alliance for a Happy Home or ABL [WONG Kit-cheng]
• Association of Synergy of Macau ("Synergy Power" or Poder da Singeria) or PS [Vitor VAI]
• Macau-Guangdong Union or UGM [MAK Soi-kun]
• New Hope or NE [José Maria Pereira COUTINHO]
• Union for Development or UPD [HO Sut Heng]
• Union for Promoting Progress or UPP or UNIPRO [HO Ion-sang]
• United Citizens Association of Macau or ACUM [CHAN Meng-kam]
• Women's General Association of Macau or AGMM [HO Teng-iat]
• Note: there is no political party ordinance, so there are no registered political parties; politically active groups register as societies or companies

18 years of age in direct elections for some legislative positions, universal for permanent residents living in Macau for the past 7 years; note - indirect elections are limited to organizations registered as "corporate voters" and an election committee for the chief executive drawn from broad regional groupings, municipal organizations, central government bodies, and elected Macau officials

embassy

the US has no offices in Macau; US Consulate General in Hong Kong is accredited to Macau

• none (Special Administrative Region of China)