Minister of State and of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and
Official Spokesperson for the Government of Timor-Leste
Dili, June 21st, 2017
Preparations for Parliamentary Elections On Track as Campaign Period Begins
The Government, through the work of the National Electoral Commission [CNE], the Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration [STAE], the Ministry of State Administration, and the Ministry of the Interior are making all necessary preparations for the Parliamentary Election to be held on the 22th of July 2017.
The Official Campaign Period has begun and runs from the 20th of June to the 19th of July 2017. The Campaign Calendar is available on the website of the National Election Commission.
Last week the process of registering and verifying parties and coalitions taking part in the election was completed. Twenty parties and one coalition will be listed on the ballot paper in the order determined last week by lottery.
On the 22nd of July registered voters will cast their vote between 7am and 3pm at polling centers around the country. They are to make one mark the ballot paper in the box next to the one party of their choice. The 65 seats in the National Parliament are allocated depending on the number of votes received nationally for each party. To receive a seat a party must poll over 4% of the total votes counted.
Each of the 20 parties and the one coalition have already registered a list of their 65 principal candidates and a list of their supplementary candidates. On these lists, at a minimum, every third candidate must be female. The seats won by a registered party or coalition are filled in the order of their list.
A wide-ranging program is now being undertaken to advise voters of election process.
Last week the Minister of State Minister of State, Coordinator of State Administration Affairs and Justice and Minister of State Administration, H.E. Dionísio Babo Soares, met with members of the Diplomatic Corps and Development Partners to update them on preparations. The election will again welcome the involvement of accredited international observers.
Spokesperson, Minister of State Agio Pereira, noted “the political parties, electoral institutions, national leaders and Government are all working to ensure a calm, well organized and constructive election. We are grateful that we have a country in which parties can openly campaign and where our citizens are able to freely exercise their democratic rights won at great cost by all engaged in the struggle for our liberation. We respect their legacy by our conduct as we approach the election on the 22nd of July.”ENDS
The calendar for the Parliamentary Election is available here.