In a first, casino hub Macau elects chief executive born in mainland China

Former judge Sam Hou Fai receives 394 out of 398 votes cast in an election where he was the sole candidate.

Former judge Sam Hou Fai has been elected chief executive-designate of Macau, China’s special administrative region, setting him up to be the leader of the casino-dominated area next to Hong Kong.

Sam received 394 votes out of 398 ballots cast in an election that lasted about one hour and 35 minutes on Sunday, according to a statement on the government’s website.

He is the territory’s first leader born in mainland China. Critics fear the move will see Beijing’s agenda take priority over business interests.

After being announced as the chief executive-elect, Sam walked onto the stage to applause from the committee members. “It is the highest honour of my life,” the 62-year-old said.

He pledged to uphold national sovereignty, accelerate the city’s economic diversification, and better integrate it into the national development plans.

Sam celebrates after being declared the winner of Macau’s chief executive election [Bertha Wang/AP Photo]

The appointment of Sam to a five-year term as chief executive must be approved by China’s central government.

“This was an election with one candidate. Ordinary residents here can’t vote here,” Al Jazeera’s Laura Westbrook reported from Macau. “Some people that I have been speaking to, they weren’t even aware there was an election happening today.”

Sam was born in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong in 1962. He graduated from the prestigious law school of Peking University in Beijing.

He also studied the Portuguese language, culture and law at the University of Coimbra in Portugal, and once practised law in mainland China.

Macau is the only place in China where casino gambling is legal. Beijing has called for the city to diversify its gambling-reliant economy.

“He [Sam] is the first leader of Macau that doesn’t come from a business background, and he has had some pretty strong comments about the gambling industry here – where he says that he wants to diversify it away from gambling,” Al Jazeera’s Westbrook said.

Sam has promised to accelerate the current government’s plan to boost tourism and other sectors such as traditional Chinese medicine, finance, exhibitions and commerce.

However, the city will still need to rely on the gambling industry for government revenues to support the city’s welfare and accomplish other goals laid out by Beijing, analysts say.

China wants Macau to develop into a world-class tourism and leisure centre and play a bigger role as a bridge for trade between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies