Macau  - Former culture minister Ferdando Chui was elected as Macau's new leader Sunday after running unopposed in a poll of the former Portuguese colony's leading citizens.

A 300-strong election panel, formed from representatives of Macau's business and political communities, cast their ballots in the election on Sunday morning, giving Chui 282 votes. Some 14 ballots were left blank, while there were no votes against Chui.

The same panel voted 286 in favour of nominating Chui as Macau's next government chief executive at a meeting last month.

That vote meant none of the other three candidates, comprising Macau's chief prosecutor, finance minister and an industrialist, who stood against Chui received the required 50 nominations for their names to appear on ballot papers.

Chui will take over as Macau's leader from Edmund Ho on December 20 to coincide with ceremonies to mark the 10th anniversary of Macau's return to Chinese control. Ho has been chief executive since December 1999 when the former Portuguese administration handed Macau back to China.

Commenting on Chui's win, Hong Kong government chief executive Donald Tsang said: "Hong Kong and Macau have long-standing close economic and social ties. I sincerely look forward to building with you a closer co-operative relationship to enhance development" in Hong Kong, Macau as well as the whole Pearl River delta region."

Chui met community and business groups and residents in the run-up to Sunday's vote which analysts said was intended to give a semblance of public participation in the selection when little actually existed.

While the new leader is likely to steer Macau's economy away from its over reliance on the gambling industry, there have been concerns about Chui's lack of new policies.

Macau logistics association chairman Victor Lei said Chui promised to the support the transport and logistics sector at a meeting earlier in July. Lei added: "He did not say exactly what policies. But we are holding out hope that there will be measures to help our sector."

University of Macau assistant professor Eilo Yu Wing-yat added that criticism of Chui had receded recently. "It seems that society is slowly coming to accept the inevitable result of the election," he said. (dpa)