国内英语新闻:27 group nomination applications confirmed for Macao's legislative election

MACAO, June 21 (Xinhua) -- A total of 27 group nomination applications have been confirmed one day before the deadline for sending nomination application for Macao's sixth legislative election, the special administrative region (SAR)'s legislative election management committee said Wednesday.

Out of the 31 applications received by the committee before the deadline, these 27 are considered legitimate and the other four need correction, committee president Tong Hio Fong said.

He said that the four group applications are not confirmed either because they are signed by less than 300 voters, which is not enough for group nomination application in line with Macao's legislative election law or because the logos that the group applications have used are similar to existing ones.

These four applications have five days to make corrections to comply with the requirements, Tong said.

The committee also decided that the upcoming legislative election will use booths with the same design as those used at polling stations in last election -- translucent curtains will be used to allow supervisors outside to make sure voters don't violate any regulations while protecting their privacy.

The election of the sixth Legislative Assembly of the Macao SAR will be held on Sept. 17, 2017. In line with the provisions of the Basic Law, the new legislature will be composed of 33 seats including 14 directly-elected seats, 12 indirectly-elected seats, and the seven others appointed by the SAR's chief executive.