The Legislative Council of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) on Friday approved the general outline of the government's bill on the election of chief executive.

Only two of Macao's 22 lawmakers attending the two-hour plenary debate Friday afternoon voted against the bill, which is due to return to the assembly's plenum for an article-by-article vote after detailed discussions of its content are held at committee level.

Sources closed to the Legislative Council said that the legislative is expected to cast the final vote of the bill in April, and then it will become legally effective. The election of a 300-member election committee will be held 15 days after the Election Law comes into effect.

Under the bill, the election of Macao's next chief executive shall be held no later than 60 days before the current office-holder's five-year term expires. The term of the incumbent chief executive, Edmund Ho Hau Wah, who took office upon Macao's return to the motherland on Dec. 20, 1999, will finish on Dec. 19.
 
(Xinhua News Agency February 21, 2004)