Sam Hou-fai is the only candidate for the top job in Macau after 383 nominations

Sam, former chairman of the Macau Court of Appeal, officially submitted his application for the upcoming chief executive election on Tuesday. The 400-member Chief Executive Committee's election committee has submitted 383 nominations. Candidates must receive at least 66 nominations from the committee.

Sam was nominated more often than Macau's Prime Minister Ho Iat-seng, who received 379 votes, or 92 percent of the total vote.

“So far, I am very pleased with the support of so many members of the election committee. I did not expect how many I would get because I never thought about this issue,” he told reporters after submitting official documents on Tuesday morning.

“The key is to follow my own schedule when conducting the election campaign and to spend more time thinking about how I can discuss my campaign platform and my future government philosophy with all sectors of society.”