Pereira Coutinho, Mak Soi Kun, and Melinda Chan) and new candidates.

New structure of the Legislative Assembly
See also: Legislative Assembly of Macau and Chief Executive of Macau

Previous Structure 
Macau's government is headed by the Chief Executive, who controls government appointments and in many ways serves as the face of the city. Prior to 2012, the Chief Executive was elected by a 300-member Election Committee consisting of representatives from functional constituencies.  100 total came from the industrial, commercial and financial sectors, 18 from the culture sector, 20 from the education sector, 30 from the "specialty" sector, 12 from the sports sector, 40 from the labor sector, 34 from the social services sector, and 6 total from various religious groups.  16 were representatives of the Macanese Legislative Assembly andinterests. However, they have been criticized for limiting the amount of canvassing candidates with less money can do, thus encouraging clientelistic bloc voting where parties simply strike deals with associations, business interests and community leaders to turn out assured votes in their favor. Working around the rules, candidates resorted to using loudspeakers to promote their campaigns.

Among the most powerful special interests in Macau are casinos.  Macau's casino industry has a long history of Triad and other organized crime connections.  Since laws around casinos were liberalized in 2002 to promote more foreign investment, the Triad has lost its stranglehold on Macau's casino industry (although it remains deeply embedded in it). Casinos have long played a major role in clientelistic politics in Macau, and since liberalization their influence