Macau’s Chief Executive, Ho Iat Seng, has publicly announced that he is not going to be seeking a second term in office, in a historical first for the gaming hub.
In a statement published via Macau’s Government Information Bureau, it notes that Ho Iat Seng ‘would not participate in the election for the sixth-term Chief Executive’.
This would be the first time that a Chief Executive in Macau has not sought re-election, following two terms of Macau’s first Chief Executive Edmund Ho and two terms by Chui Sai On.
The official noted that he would not be seeking re-election “due to the fact that my health has not been fully restored”.
The official had been out of the public eye recently due to his health issues, with speculation that he would not be running for a second five-year term.
Ho Iat Seng was lauded by the local population due to his response to the COVID pandemic, which shuttered the city for three years.
Ho was instrumental in Macau’s closing of its borders, shuttering of casinos and strict regulations regarding testing, vaccination, and movement in the city.
He also presided over the re-tendering of the city’s casino licenses, encouraging strict guidelines for non-gaming investments which mandate that the six gaming licensees effectively hold the responsibility of Macau’s diversification away from strictly gaming revenues.
In his statement, the SAR’s top official noted that “The fifth Macao SAR Government and I planned to promote Macao’s diversified development, strove to build a new pattern of Macao’s development and reshaped Macao’s new competitive advantages under the concept of “unity and efforts, change and innovation”.
He noted that he would not be running “for the sake of Macao’s long-term development and from the perspective of the overall situation”.
Ho Iat Seng noted that he “will fully support” the next Chief Executive and the SAR government.
In a note late on Wednesday, Seaport Research Partners’ Vitaly Umansky noted that “we do not expect any material changes to the gaming industry resulting from a new chief executive”. The Senior Analyst notes that “status quo will likely be the main driver of the new Chief Executive”.
Speculation has abounded regarding who would step up to assume the Chief Executive position, with the most talked-about potential candidate being the President of the Court of Final Appeal, Justice Sam Hou Fai.
Umansky indicates that “the most likely individual to take the role will be fully vetted and approved by the Chinese government and most likely will come into office with strong Macau government experience and an understanding of the importance of the gaming and hospitality industry to the economic well-being and future development of Macau”.
The elections for the top role are expected to take place in mid-October.
