The election to the Legislative Assembly of the Macao Special Administrative Region on Sunday was different from earlier ones in several aspects.

Due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, the authorities had to make special arrangements for the elections. The voters had to show an all-clear health code before entering polling booths. Inside the polling booths, voters had to maintain the 1-meter social distancing norm.

The SAR government had also set up three mobile polling booths to ensure voters who are quarantined in hotels or hospitals can vote.

The elections were also held in accordance of the principle of "patriots administering Macao", which means all candidates owed allegiance to the country's Constitution as well as the Macao SAR Basic Law. As Macao SAR Chief Executive Ho Iat-Seng said, anybody who does not honor either would not be allowed to contest the elections. On July 9, the authorities disqualified 23 candidates, 21 of them for not owing allegiance to the Basic Law of Macao.

But that caused no harm to the democratic elections, as 126 candidates contested the 14 seats. The need is to improve governance and promote social harmony in Macao, instead of blindly attacking the SAR government and trying to divide society.

Besides, the elections were held soon after the proposal for an In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin in Guangdong province was announced.

The Hengqin cooperation zone has become a hot topic of discussion in Macao, with people hoping that the plan will create new opportunities for Macao residents to pursue a better life.

Now voters can expect more from the Legislative Assembly members they elect, such as efforts to solve the problems facing Macao, diversifying its industries and improving people's livelihoods.

As for the legislators, they have to ensure that they serve not only Macao but also the whole country. We hope the newly elected legislators do their job well and help Macao prosper further.