Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão received, on September 28th, 2026, at the Government Palace in Dili, a delegation from the United Nations Electoral Needs Assessment Mission (UN-NAM), which is in Timor-Leste at the Government’s request to assess the needs for international assistance in preparing for the next electoral cycle.

The meeting was attended by the Minister of State Administration, Tomás do Rosário Cabral; the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Timor-Leste, Funmi Balogun; the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Timor-Leste, Katyna Argueta; and Zoran Trajkovski of the Electoral Assistance Division of the United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, who is part of the Electoral Needs Assessment Mission.

The mission aims to identify the needs and modalities for electoral assistance to Timor-Leste, including technical and institutional support for the Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration (STAE – acronym in Portuguese), the National Elections Commission (CNE – acronym in Portuguese), and civil society organisations.

Areas addressed include civic education, updating and biometric voter registration, preparations for voting by Timorese citizens abroad, and other procedures related to organising electoral processes. The Government and international partners will also continue discussions on the participation of international observers.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister argued that the presence of international observers should not be limited to Dili but should also extend to municipalities and local communities, to enable monitoring of the electoral process across different parts of the national territory.

The Minister of State Administration said that STAE will continue working with UNDP to prepare the necessary conditions for the upcoming elections and to define the modalities of cooperation with international partners.

Timor-Leste will hold presidential and local government elections in 2027, with parliamentary elections set for 2028.

The United Nations Electoral Needs Assessment Mission will continue consultations with national institutions to identify areas and mechanisms for international assistance in preparing for the upcoming elections.