Council of Ministers’ Meeting of November 24, 2010
IV CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT
STATE SECRETARIAT FOR THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
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PRESS RELEASE
Council of Ministers’ Meeting of November 24, 2010
The council of Ministers met this Wednesday, 24 November 2010, at the Council of Ministers’ Meeting Room, in the Government Palace, and approved:
1. Alteration to the National Parliament Electoral Law
The Alteration to Lei number 6/2006 modifies procedural issues to improve the law, keeping in mind the parliamentary elections in agenda for 2012, namely the systematization of candidacy procedures for the elections.
The objective is to uniform the legislation in effect, adjusting the law to Timorese reality, in regards to candidacy admission and draw procedures, the ballot centres and ballot stations composition, the use of updated electoral cards as a condition for the right to exercise the voting right and the compulsory nature of the citizen vote in the geographic area of the electoral census.
It is worth noting that within the present diploma, the initial vote count is no longer done at the district level, now to be done immediately at the voting centers.
2. Alteration to the Law for Electoral Administrative Organs
The first alteration to Lei number 5/2006 has the objective of adjusting the current situation of the electoral administrative organs to Timorese reality. This adjustment need arises from the experience obtained from the elections that have taken place in the country, up to the present moment.
3. Alteration to the Electoral Law for President of the Republic
The Council of Ministers has re-appreciated and approved a few alterations to this diploma, which regulates the election for President of the Republic, now using the technical and organizational procedures adopted in the community elections of 2009.
The intention is to progress towards the standardisation of the legislation currently in effect, adjusting the law to the Timorese reality.
4. Second alteration to the Organic of the Ministry of State Administration and Territorial Planning
This Decree Law specifies and clarifies the attributions of the Ministry of State Administration and Territorial Planning (Portuguese acronym: MAEOT), as well as competencies of the General Director, the National Directorate for Administration and Finance, the National Directorate for Support to Suco Administrations, of the Advisory Cabinet, of District Administration and the National Institute for Public Administration.
The National Directorate for Planning, Evaluation and External cooperation is created. The competencies and name of the Cabinet for Audit and Inspection are redefined, from now on designated as Inspector-general and Internal Audit Cabinet. The competencies of the General Director are reinforced (highlight goes to the introduction of a coordinating function for the monitoring and evaluation process of the activities developed by MAEOT and of the management and development of capacity of its human resources). The legal nature of the integrated services within the State’s indirect administration, within MAEOT’s scope, is also clarified, and the remuneration level of the Inspector-general, sub inspectors and interim Directors from INAP and STAE, is established.
The Council of Ministers also analyzed:
1. Decree Law that creates the Commercial Fund for National Development
The National Development Fund must be created under the form of a Public Institution, belonging to the indirect administration of the State and under the Ministry of Economy and Development. This fund will support businessmen in the development of the required management capacity, in familiarizing with financial accounting and in the creation of a banking history so that, in the future, they may apply for commercial credit for the development of more expensive projects.
2. Proposal of an Organic Law for the Chamber of Accounts of the Administrative, Fiscal and Accounting High Court
The transparency of public accounting is promoted by higher Control Institutions whom also have to ensure the responsibility for presenting accounts. In this sense, and following the 2011-2030 Strategic Plan for the Justice Sector, approved by the Justice Coordination Council and the Council of Ministers, the present Law proposal intends to create the Chamber of Accounts of the Administrative, Fiscal and Accounting High Court.
