36 polling stations for this year’s election

By
Cecilia U

The Electoral Commission has decided that a total of 36 polling stations will be provided for this year’s Legislative Election, according to statements by Commission Chairman Tong Hio Fong yesterday at a press conference.
While 36 are to serve for the direct election of legislators, five are to function for indirect election, and will be located at the Macao Polytechnic Institute, as per the last election.
One of the 35 locations will accommodate two polling stations.
“Next week, we will visit and inspect the new locations […] to understand and to see if there are any problems [with the selected locations],” said Mr. Fong.
The Chairman added that the stations that have been chosen are close to residential areas, saying that most stations will be handicap-accessible.
Meanwhile, the Commission disclosed that the promotion of the election will commence gradually in early May to mid-June.
Promotions will encompass videos, banners and posters as well as online promotions such as the adoption of Google search words, Google multimedia and YouTube videos.
Mr. Tong revealed that the Commission had preliminarily decided upon 115 locations for the outdoor promotion of the election, 35 more compared to the last election.
He also said videos will be taken to remind voters to update their information.
“In the beginning, we will use videos to remind voters to update their address if they have moved so as to inform voters about the nearest voting station on Election Day,” Mr. Tong declared.
The Chairman said voters can update their details by approaching the Electoral Commission or through self-service machines.
Voters will receive a notice regarding the arranged polling station, and can also make enquiries about their assigned polling station by telephone.
However, voters may find themselves directed to an alternative station closer to their residences than those in the previous elections, said the Chairman, explaining that such arrangements are to avoid the overcrowding of specific polling stations.