Casino boss Chan Meng Kam's party biggest winners in Macau elections
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Play - 05:43
The city of Macau's pro-democracy camp, New Macau Association, conceded defeat on Monday after weekend elections. The United Citizens Association of Macau party, led by casino operator and rising political star Chan Meng Kam, won the most seats after securing 17 percent of the vote. Preliminary results showed democrats won just two out of the 14 directly-elected seats in the city, down from three in 2009. The pro-democracy candidates campaigned on the issue of freedom of speech. But casino bosses and pro-Beijing candidates won the population over, benefiting from Macau's healthy economic growth, sparked by the liberalisation of gambling in 2002. RFI talked to a local Macau analyst to understand the significance of the election.