Macau Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng has announced he will not run for a second term, revealing via a statement published by the Information Bureau that he has “not yet fully recovered from illness”.
The statement was issued on Wednesday afternoon, with Ho noting that with his term of office as the 5th Chief Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region was about to expire, he would like to express his heartfelt gratitude to all sectors of the community and the general public for their support over the past five years.
The announcement said Ho has a “deep affection for Macau and has done his utmost for the development of Macau, but since his health has not yet fully recovered, he has decided not to run for the sixth term of office of the Chief Executive for the sake of the long-term development of Macau and for the sake of the overall situation.”
Ho himself stated, “I will fully support the 6th Chief Executive and the SAR Government to govern in accordance with the law, and will continue to contribute to the cause of ‘one country, two systems’ and the development of Macau.”
Ho took a sudden leave of absence on 21 June, which was later extended twice for a total of 39 days. Subsequently, the government said that he had “received necessary medical treatment”.
Ho was elected as Macau’s 5th Chief Executive in 2019, but the outbreak of COVID-19 struck in his second year in office. He also changed the development of Macau’s gaming industry during his tenure, legislating a new Gaming Law and a new “Law on Gaming Junkets” while overseeing the tender and issuance of new 10-year licenses to the city’s six concessionaires. However, the junket industry also became all but obsolete during his term.
This year will represent the sixth Chief Executive Election in Macau, to be held on 13 October.
As for who will step into the role, there has been speculation in recent days – most recently around current President of the Court of Final Appeal, Chief Justice Sam Hou Fai, as the most likely.
The nomination period for the Chief Executive election will start next week.
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