The Legislative Assembly of Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) Tuesday passed a resolution in an emergency process extending the legislature's current term to Oct. 15 so that the legislative work of a bill concerning imported labor can be completed.

The Assembly's Third Standing Committee, comprising nine lawmakers, will start reviewing the bill from Sept. 21. The members of the Assembly usually take a summer break from Aug. 16 to Oct. 14 each year.

Cheang Chi Keong, president of the Assembly's third standing committee, has said that the committee needs more time to review the bill since the SAR government failed to submit the bill's final draft on time. As a result, the Assembly's executive committee proposed to prolong the legislature's current term by two months.

The SAR's fourth direct legislative election will be held on Sept. 20, in which a number of incumbent lawmakers and representatives from various socio-economic sectors will run for 12 directly-elected seats of the 29-seat Legislative Assembly.

(Xinhua News Agency August 12, 2009)