The Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) of Macau has confirmed it received a “request for cooperation” from its Portuguese counterpart regarding a criminal case related to elections for the Assembly of the Republic in Portugal and is currently investigating, according to a note from Macau’s government communication services.
The statement from Macau’s MP is in response to recent inquiries from local media “about the case involving the head of an association in Macau, who is under investigation by the Portuguese Public Prosecutor’s Office.”
The case, the statement from the semi-autonomous Chinese region’s MP says, involves “an individual alleged to have committed a crime against Portugal’s Electoral Law in Macau.”
The judicial authorities of the territory are carrying out the “necessary legal procedures, promoting investigative measures and gathering evidence in accordance with the specific request from the Portuguese judicial authority,” the MP noted.
In early May, the Socialist Party (PS) filed a complaint with the Portuguese National Election Commission (CNE), accusing the Association of Public Function Workers of Macau (ATFPM) of interfering in the postal voting for the May 18 legislative elections.
“Individuals identifying themselves as ‘volunteers’ were reported and observed outside a Macau post office, approaching voters to indicate where they should vote,” the complaint noted, as cited by the local media.
“This is the same practice that occurred in the last legislative elections held in 2024, which was found to be conducted by Rita Santos, a prominent figure of the ATFPM and Counselor of the Portuguese Communities,” the PS accused.
Rita Santos requested the suspension of her mandate as Counselor of the Portuguese Communities in October, allegedly to prepare for Macau’s parliamentary elections, scheduled for September 14.
Rita Santos is part of one of the eight candidate lists for the 14 seats in the Legislative Assembly elected by direct suffrage. The same list includes the president of the ATFPM and current deputy, José Pereira Coutinho.
At the beginning of May, both Coutinho and Santos denied the PS’ accusations.
The same party had filed similar complaints against the ATFPM during the legislative elections of 2024 and 2019. The complaint regarding 2024 was forwarded to the Portuguese Public Prosecutor’s Office by the CNE.
