The Electoral Affairs Commission for the Legislative Assembly Election aimed to complete the vote counting procedures at the earliest possible opportunity; an announcement of the preliminary results for the Legislative Assembly election would be made when appropriate.

In a press briefing held at 8.15pm today, the Commission Chairman, Mr Tong Hio Fong, urged representatives of each election team that were attending the vote count as observers, to adhere closely to the rules for such oversight in order that the work of the count would not be impeded.

As of 8pm, a total of 168,073 ballots had been cast for the direct election, representing a voter turnout rate of 55 percent. For the indirect election, a total of 5,536 people had voted, representing a 90.83-percent voter turnout.

As of 7pm, the Commission had identified a total of 22 instances of alleged violation of election rules, including 14 of taking photographs of ballot papers, and eight instances of people either using mobile phones or taking photographs of themselves inside polling stations – actions that are forbidden under Macao law.

All 42 polling stations for the direct and indirect elections closed at 9pm.