National Parliament authorizes President of the Republic to renew the State of Emergency for another 30 days
Following the Government’s request to the President of the Republic and the positive opinions of the State Council and the Superior Council for Defence and Security, the National Parliament, today, October 26th, 2021, authorized the President of the Republic to renew State of Emergency declaration for the 19th time since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, between October 30th, 2021, 12:00 a.m. and November 28th, 2021, 11:59 p.m..
The draft law to authorize the renewal of the declaration of the state of emergency was approved by the 60 members of the Parliament present at the plenary session, with 43 votes in favour, 12 abstentions and 5 votes against.
After the publication of the President of the Republic’s Decree, the Government, in tomorrow’s meeting of the Council of Ministers, will approve the measures to implement the state of emergency declaration, which will be in force from October 30th.
In the message addressed to the National Parliament, the President of the Republic, Francisco Guterres Lú Olo, stated that “even if the deceleration trend in the spreading pace is confirmed” and “even if the COVID-19 vaccination process in Timor-Leste is running as expected, we must remain vigilant”.
The President of the Republic highlighted that “the Timorese State will have, therefore, to ensure, for the imperative of public health protection, that it has adequate mechanisms to implement public health, so as to prevent and reduce the opportunities for importation and transmission of the referred virus, and that not only the State, but each one of us, within our real possibilities, must remain vigilant and proactive.
In his speech, the Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhães, representing the Prime Minister, Taur Matan Ruak, highlighted the importance of vaccination which is “the most effective tool to fight this terrible disease and reach herd immunization at local, municipal and national levels” and stated that “the Government is aware that vaccines set the pace for a return to normality, so we remain committed to achieving, by the end of this year, the goal of immunizing at least 80% (eighty percent) of eligible persons in our population.
The Minister pointed out that the vaccine against COVID-19, “whose benefits far outweigh the risks,” besides saving lives, “can contribute to reinforce Timor-Leste’s international image as a safe destination, not only for the Presidential Elections, to be held next year, but also so that we can receive tourists, investors and high international dignitaries, for example, the long-awaited visit of His Holiness Pope Francis, foreseen for the second half of 2022.
Minister Fidelis Magalhães also stressed that “this new period of the state of emergency will be marked by the beginning of the immunization campaign for young people between 12 and 17 years of age” and that “the renewal of the state of emergency declaration is understood as crucial to consolidate the Country’s resilience and to reinforce the resistance of the Timorese, strengthening the national conditions for a new and desired post-COVID-19 normality, which is increasingly closer on our horizon”.
