Chui Sai-on was re-elected to a second term as chief executive of the Macao special administrative region on Aug 31, pending central government approval.

Chui, who was elected as Macao’s chief executive in 2009, won 380 electoral votes from the 396 Election Committee members who attended the voting.

The committee said Chui won with 95.96 percent of the voters, higher than the 95.27 percent in his previous term.

The committee comprises 400 members, up from 300 for the previous election. They began voting at 10 am at the Macao International Convention Center.

Under the selection method, the vote is only legitimate if attended by two-thirds of the 400 Election Committee members. A candidate must win votes from more than half the members present to secure victory.

Chui, the sole candidate and whose current term ends on Dec 19, announced he was running for re-election on July 15.

Under Macao’s Basic Law, the chief executive, with a five-year tenure for each term, must be elected by a broadly representative Election Committee in accordance with the law and be appointed by the central government.

Chui said at a news conference after the election that his new term will mark the start of fresh challenges for Macao. He pledged to devote himself to fully carrying out the principle of One Country, Two Systems, while improving Macao people’s livelihoods.

Born in Macao in 1957, Chui holds a bachelor’s degree in community health from California State University and a master’s degree and PhD in public health from the University of Oklahoma.

Chui Sai-on (right) was re-elected as chief executive of the Macao special administrative region on Aug 31, 2014.[Xinhua]