The 29 newly elected and appointed members of the fourth-term Legislative Assembly of Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) were sworn in Friday, with Lau Cheok Va being elected by the new members as the legislature's new president.

Witnessed by the SAR's Chief Executive Ho Hau Wah, the 29 persons took their inaugural oath during an inauguration ceremony held at the SAR's Government Headquarters.

A plenary meeting of the new Legislative Assembly was held later the day, where lawmakers Lau Cheok Va and Ho Iat Seng were respectively elected as the legislature's new president and vice president in votes carried out among the members. Both Lau and Ho are lawmakers who were the uncontested winners of the indirect part of the legislature election.

In line with the Basic Law, the SAR's mini constitution, the new legislature is composed of 29 seats, including 12 directly-elected seats, 10 indirectly-elected seats, and seven others which are appointed by the SAR's chief executive.

The lists of the directly elected and indirectly elected members have already been announced after the legislative election was held on Sept. 20. The appointed members were also revealed early this month.

After the inauguration ceremony, Susana Chou, who was the legislature's president for three consecutive terms in the past ten years, said she hoped that the veteran lawmakers and the new faces in the Assembly can carry on the good tradition of the legislature while bringing in new ideas.

Chou has withdrawn from local political scene after chairing the last plenary meeting of the third-term legislature early this month.

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