UNOTIL Convenes a Consultative Meeting on Electoral Laws
17 August 2006, Dili -- Prime Minister
José Ramos-Horta
opened a meeting convened by Sukehiro Hasegawa, the Special
Representative of the Secretary-General in Timor-Leste today
for all major political parties in the country to discuss the
main elements contained in two drafts of a new law governing
national parliamentary elections scheduled for next year.
Ramos-Horta declared the new government had no draft of its own,
and he was open and would listen to the suggestions of all the
parties.
Politicians representing 17 political parties discussed details
of the drafts, one proposed by the ruling Fretilin party, and
the other by members of opposition parties. UNDP Electoral Adviser
Horacio Boneo presented an analysis of the implications of the
provisions contained in the two draft electoral laws submitted
by the majority party and opposition parties.
“This was an extremely important exercise in preparation
for free, fair and credible elections next year,” Hasegawa
said. “I believe everyone present was able to gain a
greater understanding of the issues, and I noticed a movement
for consensus amongst political parties. This is democracy
at work.”
“This is just the first step in a solid UN commitment to
assist the Timorese to hold election with equal opportunity for
all parties,” he said.
Echoing sentiments expressed by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
in his latest report to the UN Security Council, Hasegawa said, “transparency
of the electoral process and the conduct of the 2007 elections
in a credible manner, with maximum participation of the Timorese
electorate, will directly affect the legitimacy of the outcome
of the elections.”
"The UN respects the sovereignty of Timor-Leste and we will not
turn back the clock. But, the UN will do everything to assist
in holding free and fair elections in a secure environment, " Hasegawa
said. He told the meeting that Secretary-General had asked
for 35 international electoral advisors, 108 UN Volunteer electoral
specialists and that three months prior to elections, up to
250 UN Volunteers would be deployed nationwide to assist in
the preparations of the elections. All electoral polling stations
will be supervised by one international along side Timorese
counterparts.
Hasegawa noted that the Secretary-General had recommended that
among the most important task of the new mission, which is
to replace the current UN Office in Timor-Leste, is “To support
Timor-Leste in all aspects of the 2007 presidential and parliamentary
electoral process, including through technical and logistical
support, electoral administration and policy advice, voter registration
and information technology, training, and promotion of equal
participation of women or other means, in order to ensure that
the elections meet international standards and that the electoral
process has broad national support and participation.” "If
requested by the Government, the UN will also send a high level
team to certify each step of the electoral process." Hasegawa
said.
In response to security concerns, the SRSG said, the Secretary-General
has proposed to the Security Council to send a UN police force
of 1,608 headed by an international police commissioner to
work with the national police (PNTL). "The UN police will retain command
and control during the elections and make sure that they are
operating in a secure environment," he said.
“The international community is committed to assisting
in further strengthening the democratic foundations of Timor-Leste
and believes that jointly, we can make the 2007 elections a success,” he
said.
END
