……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Dili, May 11th, 2017
Press Release
Council of Ministers meeting of the 11th May 2017
The Council of Ministers met on Thursday, at the Government Palace, in Dili, and approved six diplomas proposed by the Ministry of State Administration to regulate the upcoming elections.
The first diploma regards the election of community leaders and defines the Dates to carry out the meetings for the Hamlet Assemblies and the Village Councils, within the scope of the “mid-term” processes of the community leaders. The diploma follows a data survey, which showed that the population dimension of certain Villages did not allow for an effective public service provision, nor did it allow carrying out the functions that traditionally are attributed to local authorities, which led the Ministry of State Administration to recognise the need to create ten new Villages. The 18th of May is the date to present candidates for Village Chief of the new Villages. The first round for these elections will be on the 2nd of June and the second round on the 17th June.
The remaining diplomas presented by the Ministry for State Administration refer to the parliamentary elections of the 22nd July.
The regulation on the presentation of candidates for the election of MPs for the National Parliament was approved. It defines the general rules in regards to the presentation and admission of candidates for the election of MPs for the National Parliament and the rules for dispute, related to this phase of the respective electoral processes.
The regulation for monitoring, observation and media coverage in the election of MPs for the National Parliament was also approved, which defines the rights and duties of the political party and party coalition inspectors, the observers and media professionals. It also defines the rules for accreditation of these participants.
Following the previous meeting’s approval of the update in voter registration overseas, and recognizing the importance that the electoral process has to all Timorese citizens, the Council of Ministers approved the technical procedures to carry out parliamentary elections overseas. This diploma defines the rules that regulate the voting procedure and vote counting, tabulation of election results and defines the accreditation process of the candidate inspectors, electoral observers and media professionals throughout the monitoring, observation and coverage activities of election.
The rules for organization and functioning of the Voting Centres, the voting procedures, vote counting and result tabulation were approved.
Also approved was the regulation on electoral campaigns and materials, which establishes the rules to carry out electoral campaigns for this election.
In addition to the diplomas regarding elections, the Council of Ministers authorised the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding of friendship and collaboration between the Government of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste and the Government of Victoria (in Australia), proposed by the Office of the Prime Minister. The main objective of this Agreement is to maintain the support from the Government of Victoria in the Governance and Public Administration sectors.
Timor GAP formally delivered, to the Government, the 2016 Annual Report and Accounts, in accordance to the law and the international guidelines for financial reporting. The President and CEO of the public company, Francisco Monteiro, accompanied by the Minister for Petroleum and Mineral Resources, presented to the Council of Ministers detailed data on the main activities developed in 2016, including the development of human and institutional resources, business, projects, financial results and company forecast in the future. The document will also be delivered this month to the Court of Auditors, together with the audit carried out by an independent company, and the Report will be made available to the public in the month of June.
The Cabinet of the Prime Minister presented a situation update on the Global Conference on the 2030 Agenda: A Roadmap for Sustainable Development Goals in Fragile and Conflict-affected States, which will take place in Dili on the 22nd and 23rd May, during the commemorations of the Restoration of Independence (Agenda is available, here). The conference is organized in partnership with the members of the Informal High Level Group for the SDGs and the g7+ Secretariat, with the support of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). It will bring together politicians and development partners, nationals and internationals and civil society organizations (Government Spokesperson Press Release, available here). ENDS