24/01/2007: Law on The Election of teh National Parliament
Pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1338/01 of 31 January, the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) was entrusted the responsibility to ensure free and fair elections in cooperation with the Timorese people.
With the purpose of governing the election of the Constituent Assembly, UNTAET promulgated Regulation No. 2001/2, of 26 February (On the election of a Constituent Assembly to prepare a Constitution for an Independent and Democratic East Timor), later on amended by UNTAET Regulation No. 2002/3, of 23 March, and Regulation No. 2001/11, of 13 July (On electoral offences for the election of a Constituent Assembly). Following this, the first direct, universal and secret elections were held. The then elected Constituent Assembly approved and decreed the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste and, after its entry into force, the Constituent Assembly transformed itself into the National Parliament.
The country was thus endowed with the organ of sovereignty responsible for drafting laws and monitoring the activity of the Government and which, under the new historic situation, comes up with the present law to regulate the election of the National Parliament in a clearly innovative manner, in compliance with the constitutional provisions on the subject matter. The experience acquired from both the election of the Constituent Assembly and, more recently, the election of the Suco Chiefs and Suco Councils, was obviously taken into account.
Lists of candidates may be presented by political parties running individually or in electoral coalition. Members of National Parliament shall be elected by a single national constituency, through plurinominal lists, and the conversion of the votes into seats shall observe the proportional system in accordance with the Hondt method which, applied to a universe of 65 seats, will ensure a broad representation in the parliamentary composition. The present law provides however for a threshold of representation in order to prevent an excessive party pulverization on one hand and, on the other hand, potentiate the representation of the political forces actually implanted in Timorese society.
In following a universal trend of modern electoral legislations, the present draft law provides a concrete incentive to the political participation of women through their mandatory inclusion in the lists of candidates and their substitution by candidates of the same gender in case of vacancy.
The present law also defines fundamental principles relating to the electoral campaign and establishes general norms relating to presentation of candidacies, method of election, and voting process, the detailed definition of which is subject to regulation.
From the procedural viewpoint, the present law does not distance itself from the procedural scheme inherent to the law on the election of the President of the Republic, the objective being to lend coherence and harmony to the emerging Timorese electoral system.
Thus, pursuant to item 5 of article 65 and to paragraph h), item 2, of article 95, of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, the National Parliament decrees the following to have the force of law:
LAW ON THE ELECTION OF THE NATIONAL PARLIAMENT
TITLE I
SCOPE AND GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Article 1
Scope
The present law shall regulate the election of Members to the National Parliament.
Article 2
General principles
1. Members of the National Parliament shall be elected through universal, free, direct, equal, secret, personal, and regular suffrage.
2. Members of the National Parliament shall be elected for a period of five years, corresponding to the duration of the legislative term.
Article 3
National Parliament
The National Parliament is the organ of sovereignty of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste that represents all the Timorese citizens and is vested with legislative, supervisory, and political decision-making powers.
TITLE II
ELECTORAL CAPACITY
Article 4
Active electoral capacity
1. Active electoral capacity is granted to all Timorese citizens over 17 years of age residing in the national territory.
2. In order to be able to exercise the right of vote it shall be a mandatory condition to be registered in the voter registration.
Article 5
Active electoral disability
The following are not granted active electoral capacity:
a) Individuals judicially disabled due to a sentence imposed by a court of law;
b) Individuals clearly and publicly known as mentally ill even where they are not judicially disabled.
Article 6
Passive electoral capacity
Timorese citizens with active electoral capacity are eligible to run for the National Parliament.
Article 7
Ineligibility
The following are ineligible to run for the National Parliament:
a) The President of the Republic;
b) Magistrates or public prosecutors in service;
c) Serving career diplomats;
d) Civil servants in service;
e) Members of the Timor-Leste defense force (FALINTIL-FDTL) in service;
f) Members of the police in service;
g) Ministers of any religion or cult;
h) Members of the national electoral commission.
Article 8
Immunities and privileges of candidates
1. No candidate can be held in preventive detention during the electoral process, except in case of “flagrante delicto” for committing fraudulent crimes punishable with coercive detention of more than one year.
2. During the electoral campaign, candidates shall be entitled to be released from the exercise of their respective professional functions, public or private, and the period of time spent in the electoral campaign shall be considered as time of effective service, including for purposes of compensation.
TITLE III
ELECTORAL SYSTEM
Article 9
Single constituency
There shall be only one single constituency in the election of the National Parliament, corresponding to the entire national territory, headquartered in Dili.
Article 10
Number of members of Parliament
The total number of Members of Parliament shall be 65.
Article 11
Method of election
Members of Parliament shall be elected through plurinominal lists, presented by political parties or party coalitions, and each voting citizen shall be entitled to one single vote in the list.
Article 12
Organization of the lists
1. Lists proposed for the election by a political party or a party coalition must contain 65 effective candidates as well as no less than 25 alternate candidates.
2. Candidates of each list shall be considered to be sorted in accordance with the sequence of their respective candidacy statement.
3. Lists of effective and alternate candidates must include at least one woman per every group of four candidates, under pain of rejection.
Article 13
Election criterion
1. Conversion of votes into seats shall observe the proportional representation system in accordance with the Hondt highest average method, and shall comply with the following rules:
a) The total number of votes received for each list shall be counted separately;
b) The number of votes counted for each list shall be divided, successively, by 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc., and the quotients shall be sorted in a descending order, forming a series with as many terms as the number of seats allocated to the single constituency;
c) The seats shall be attributed to the lists corresponding to the terms of the series established according to the rule provided for in paragraph b), and each list shall receive the number of seats corresponding to the number of terms in the series;
d) Where there is only one seat left to distribute, and the next terms of the series are equal and belong to different lists, the seat shall be attributed to the list with the least number of votes.
2. Lists obtaining less than 3% (three percent) of the total of votes shall not be entitled to attribution of seats.
Article 14
Distribution of seats
1. Within each list, seats shall be attributed to candidates in accordance with the order of precedence indicated in item 2 of Article 12.
2. In the event of death of the candidate or illness that renders such candidate physically or mentally unable to become a Member of Parliament, the seat shall be attributed to the next candidate in the afore-mentioned list.
3. Where the candidate to whom any of the circumstances referred to in item 2 above applies is a woman, the seat shall be attributed to the next woman candidate on the respective list, where applicable, even as an alternate candidate.
Article 15
Vacancies in the National Parliament
1. Vacancies in the National Parliament shall be filled by the next candidate on the respective list, or, in the event of a party coalition, by the next candidate from the party which proposed the candidate that gave rise to the vacancy.
2. When in applying the rule contained in the final part of item 1 above, it is impossible to fill the vacancy with a candidate proposed by the same party, the seat shall be attributed to the next candidate in the list presented by the party coalition.
3. Where the candidate that gave rise to the vacancy is a woman, the seat shall be filled with the next woman candidate on the respective list, where applicable, and the same rule shall apply to party coalitions.
4. The vacancy will not be filled where there are no more non-elected effective candidates or alternate candidates on the lists to which the holder of the vacant seat belonged.
5. Members of Parliament who are appointed as members of the Government cannot hold their seats while exercising functions as members of Government and shall be substituted in accordance with item 1 above.
Article 16
Forfeiture of seat
1. A Member of Parliament elected to the National Parliament on a list presented by a political party or a party coalition and who, after his or her election, transfers himself or herself to another party, shall forfeit his or her seat.
2. In the case provided for in item 1 above, the vacancy shall be filled in accordance with Article 15 above.
TITLE IV
ORGANIZATION OF THE ELECTORAL PROCESS
CHAPTER I
SCHEDULING OF THE DATE OF ELECTIONS
Article 17
Scheduling of elections
1. After hearing the Government and the political parties seating in the National Parliament, the President of the Republic shall schedule by decree the election date for the Members of Parliament at least eighty 80 days or, in case of dissolution, 60 days, in advance.
2. Elections for organs of sovereignty shall not take place simultaneously and there shall be a minimum period of three weeks separating them.
Article 18
Electoral calendar
The Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration (STAE) shall publish the calendar of the electoral operations in the Official Gazette within 8 days from the publication of the decree referred to in item 1 of article 17 above.
CHAPTER II
PRESENTATION OF CANDIDACIES
Article 19
Power of nominating candidacies
1. Candidacies shall be presented by duly registered political parties individually or in party coalition as long as they are duly registered, and the lists may include citizens not belonging to the respective parties.
2. No political party or party coalition may present more than one list of candidates.
3. No one can be a candidate on more than one list, under pain of ineligibility.
Article 20
Party coalitions for electoral purposes
1. Once the election date has been scheduled, and within the subsequent twenty days, two or more political parties may form coalitions for electoral purposes with the objective of presenting one single list for the election of the National Parliament, in accordance with the contents of the following items.
2. For the purposes of the present law, the formation of party coalitions (party coalitions) for electoral purposes shall observe the provisions of the law governing the political parties and shall be immediately communicated to the national electoral commission (CNE) with an indication of the respective denomination, abbreviation, flag and symbol.
3. The information referred to in item 2 above shall be communicated by CNE to STAE, which will immediately announce it through a notice published on the Official Gazette.
Article 21
Representatives of the proposers
In presenting lists of candidates, political parties and party coalitions shall be represented by a person nominated by them.
Article 22
Place and deadline for presentation of candidacies
The lists of candidates shall be presented to CNE within a period of thirty days from the date of publication of the decree scheduling the election date.
Article 23
Draw of lists presented
1. On the day following the end of the deadline set for presentation of candidacies, CNE shall draw the lists presented in the presence of the candidates or their representatives in order to determine their order on the ballot papers, and shall draft the respective minutes thereafter.
2. The holding of the draw and the printing of the ballot papers shall not imply the admission of the candidacies and they shall be considered ineffective with respect to the list or lists that are definitively rejected.
3. The result of the draw shall be posted on the door of the building headquartering CNE, and a copy thereof shall be forwarded to STAE.
Article 24
Admission of candidacies
1. After the draw, CNE shall verify the legitimacy of the process and the authenticity of the comprising documents, and shall request STAE to verify the identity and registration of the candidates in the voter registration.
2. Ineligible candidates shall be rejected.
3. Upon detection of a breach of procedure, the representative of the candidacy shall be notified to correct the irregularity within two days.
4. The decision by CNE applying to all the candidacies shall be announced within ten days from the end of the deadline for presentation of candidacies and shall be immediately communicated to the representatives of the candidacies and to STAE.
Article 25
Complaints and appeals
1. Complaints relating to the process of presentation of candidacies shall be filed with CNE and the resulting decisions shall be appealed against to the Supreme Court of Justice (STJ).
2. Decisions of CNE and STJ shall be mandatorily communicated to STAE.
Article 26
Substitution and withdrawal of candidacies
1. Any candidate is free to withdraw through a written statement containing his or her certified signature; however, the list presented shall remain valid.
2. Candidates may only be substituted up to twenty-one days before election day in the following cases:
a) Elimination of the candidate by virtue of final judgment on an appeal grounded on ineligibility;
b) Withdrawal of the candidate.
3. In case of death or illness of a candidate leading to physical or mental disability, his or her substitution may take place up to seventy-two hours before the election.
4. Substitution shall be optional and the substitutes shall be included on the list after the last alternate candidate.
Article 27
Withdrawal of list
A list may be validly withdrawn up to seventy-two hours before election day through communication by the respective representative to CNE which, in turn, shall immediately communicate the fact to STAE.
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CHAPTER III
ELECTORAL CAMPAIGN
Article 28
Period of electoral campaign
The electoral campaign shall have a duration of thirty days and shall expire two days before election day.
Article 29
Principles of electoral campaign
1. The electoral campaign shall be conducted in due respect for the following principles:
a) Freedom of electoral propaganda;
b) Equal opportunity and treatment for the different candidacies;
c) Impartiality of public entities insofar as candidacies are concerned;
d) Transparency and monitoring of electoral accounts.
2. CNE shall verify the compliance with these principles, to be applied from the date of scheduling of the election date, and shall adopt measures that ensure their compliance with, and the peaceful unfolding of, the electoral campaign.
Article 30
Electoral propaganda
Electoral propaganda shall mean all the activities directly or indirectly aiming at promoting candidacies, candidates, political parties or party coalitions, namely the publication of texts or images that express or reproduce the content of such activity.
Article 31
Financing
Financing of candidacies shall be governed by specific legislation and, with the necessary adaptations, by the applicable norms of the law on political parties.
CHAPTER IV
POLLING CENTRES AND POLLING STATIONS
Article 32
Polling centres
1. There shall be at least one polling centre in each suco and, depending on the number of electors or the distance between hamlets composing the suco, STAE may establish additional polling centres without prejudice to the need to safeguard the secrecy of vote.
2. Where deemed necessary, each polling centre may be subdivided into more than one polling station.
3. The number and location of polling centres and polling stations shall be announced by STAE until thirty days before election day.
Article 33
Working timetable
1. On the day scheduled for the election, polling centres and polling stations shall open at 07:00 hours and close at 16:00 hours and shall work uninterruptedly throughout this period.
2. After the closing time, only electors in the queue waiting to cast their vote shall be allowed to vote, and such fact shall be verified by the queue controller and communicated to the respective president.
Article 34
Electoral officers
1. Each polling centre or polling station shall be comprised of 5 electoral officers, with the following elements:
a) One president;
b) One identification verification officer;
c) One ballot paper controller;
d) One ballot box controller;
e) One queue controller.
2. Only national citizens who can read and write may be electoral officers, and they shall be selected from among local electors and submitted to a preliminary training by STAE;
3. On election day, and for the entire duration of their activities, electoral officers shall be released from their duty to attend their respective job or service, without prejudice to their working rights, including the right to total remuneration, which can be claimed upon proof of the exercise of such functions issued by STAE.
Article 35
Delegates of candidacies
Candidacies are entitled to nominate delegates to supervise voting operations and tabulation of results and who shall be entitled to the right referred to in item 3 of Article 34 above.
Article 36
Prohibition of presence of Defense Force
1. The presence in polling centres and polling stations of members of FALINTIL-FDTL in service shall be prohibited.
2. Only the presence of Timor-Leste national police (PNTL) members shall be authorized to stay more than 25 metres outside of the polling centres or polling stations.
3. A regulation, to be approved by STAE, shall contain the circumstances in which the intervention of members of security forces referred to in items 1 and 2 above shall be exceptionally authorized.
CHAPTER V
VOTING
Article 37
Right to vote
1. The act of voting is a right and a civic duty.
2. The right to vote shall be exercised in a direct and personal manner by the voting citizen.
3. Each voter is only allowed to vote once.
4. Managers of public or private services and companies working on election day should arrange for their workers to be released from their duty for the period of time deemed necessary for exercising their right of vote.
Article 38
Freedom and secrecy of vote
Voting shall be free and nobody may be forced to disclose on whom they voted or are going to vote either inside or outside of the polling centre of polling station.
Article 39
Ballot papers
1. Ballot papers shall be rectangular in form and large enough to fit in the indication of all the candidacies and shall be printed in white, smooth, non-transparent paper.
2. Each ballot paper shall contain the denomination, abbreviation, flag or emblem of the political party or party coalition, as well as the photograph of the candidate appearing in first place on the lists admitted for election, in accordance with the sample to be approved by CNE, under proposal of STAE, and the flag, the emblem, and the photograph shall be colorful.
Article 40
Identification of the voter
1. Presentation of the updated voting card shall constitute a necessary condition for exercising the right to vote.
2. Voters who have lost their voting card shall request STAE to issue a duplicate up to two months before election day.
3. Where a voter does not possess his or her updated voting card on election day, he or she may exercise his or her right to vote by presenting the old voting card or another official document containing a recent photograph.
Article 41
Location for exercising the right of vote
Voters may cast their vote in any polling centre or polling station.
Article 42
Non-voting in a polling centre or polling station
1. Voting may not be held in a polling centre or polling station if the polling centre or polling station cannot be constituted, if any disturbance occurs that determines the interruption of the electoral operations for more than two hours, or if a calamity occurs on election day or on the three previous days.
2. Where any of the circumstances referred to in item 1 above occurs, CNE shall convene a new voting to be held in the same polling centre or polling station on the same day of the ensuing week.
Article 43
Voting method
1. The voter shall mark his or her choice by putting a cross in the white square appearing in the line corresponding to the list for which he or she opted for or by piercing the same square, as established in a specific regulation.
2. After this, the voter shall fold the ballot paper in four, with the printed part inside, and, moving towards the electoral officers, he or she shall handover the ballot paper to them so that it is inserted into the ballot box, which shall be transparent in colour.
Article 44
Blank or null and void vote
1. A vote shall be considered blank when no mark has been written on the ballot paper.
2. The ballot paper shall be considered null and void in the following situations;
a) When more than one box has been selected or pierced or when there are doubts about which box has been selected or pierced;
b) When a box has been selected or pierced corresponding to a list that has been withdrawn from the elections or that has not been admitted.
c) When the ballot paper has been torn or any drawing or erasure has been made or any word has been written on it.
Article 45
Doubts, complaints, and protests
1. Any voter or any of the delegates of the candidacies may raise doubts and file complaints or protests relating to electoral operations.
2. Doubts, complaints and protests presented during the voting or after it has been completed shall be analyzed immediately by the electoral officers and, in case of need, the latter may consult STAE.
3. Complaints must be the object of a decision approved by a minimum of three electoral officers.
4. Decisions shall be communicated to the complainers who, if so wish, may address the complaints to CNE, to be submitted in the respective polling centre or polling station accompanied by all the documents relating to that polling centre.
CHAPTER VI
TABULATION OF RESULTS
Article 46
Counting of votes and initial tabulation
1. Counting of votes shall start immediately after the closing of the polling centre or polling station and the analysis of doubts, complaints and protests and shall be undertaken in the very same place by the electoral officers in the presence of delegates of candidacies and, where they exist, of observers, both national and international, and media professionals.
2. After the counting of the votes or while the counting process is taking place, delegates of candidacies may file claims, which shall be analyzed and decided upon pursuant to items 2 and 3 of article 45 above.
3. Where more than one hour has elapsed since the start of the counting operation and the counting operation has not been completed, the ballot boxes, which shall be transparent in colour, shall be sealed, identified and transported to the district tabulation station after all the ballot papers have been reinserted in them.
4. Once the operations provided for in item 1 above have been completed, and once the doubts and protests presented have been analyzed and the claims have been decided upon or the circumstance referred to in item 3 has been verified, the minutes containing all the pertinent occurrences shall be prepared and immediately forwarded to the district tabulation station.
Article 47
District tabulation station
1. District tabulation stations shall be composed of one member of CNE, who shall preside it over, one STAE district representative, a half of the presidents of the district polling centres or polling stations, who are nominated by a draw, and a half of the brigadists of STAE pertaining to the respective district.
2. Delegates of the candidacies and, where they exist, observers and media professionals, may be present at the district tabulation station.
3. District tabulation stations shall reopen the ballot boxes, which shall be transparent in colour, in the case provided for in item 3 of article 46 above, shall count the votes at the district level, based on the minutes of initial tabulation forwarded by the polling centres and polling stations of the respective district, and shall prepare the minutes thereof, which shall be forwarded by the safest way to the national electoral commission within 2 days from the election day, together with the null votes, the protested votes, and the complaints, where they exist, with copy to the national directorate of STAE.
4. The tabulation of results shall take place uninterruptedly until such a time as all ballot papers have been counted.
5. It shall be incumbent upon PNTL to guarantee the security of the district counting headquarters, pursuant to item 2 of article 36.
Article 48
National tabulation station
1. Within seventy-two hours of receiving the district tabulation minutes, CNE shall proceed to the national tabulation by verifying the district tabulation minutes and deciding definitively on the ballot papers considered null and subject to protests forwarded to it, including the complaints filed pursuant to item 4 of Article 45.
2. Once the operations referred to in item 1 above have been completed, and within the same time limit, CNE shall prepare the minutes of the provisional tabulation of the national results and shall post it on its headquarters, with copy to STAE and the national media.
Article 49
Appeals
1. Appeals against the provisional tabulation of the national results published by CNE shall be filed within twenty-four hours of their posting with the plenary of STJ, which shall immediately notify the interested parties and make a decision within the same time limit.
2. After the time limit provided for in item 1 above has been expired without any appeal being filed, CNE shall forward the minutes of the tabulation of the national results to STJ together with the minutes of district tabulation as well as any other documents it deems important, with a clear indication that no appeal has been filed.
Article 50
Proclamation of results and validation of election
1. Once appeals have been decided upon pursuant to item 1 of Article 49 above, or after the time limit has been expired without any appeal being filed, STJ shall proceed to the analysis of the documents forwarded to it by CNE and shall issue a decision on the validation of the elections for the National Parliament and, through its President, it shall proclaim the final results within a maximum period of seventy-two hours, announcing mandatorily the total number of registered and voting electors, the total number of votes obtained per list, the blank votes and the null and void votes, the distribution of the seats by the running lists and the determination of the candidates elected per each list.
2. The decision of STJ shall be sent for publication in the Official Gazette, with copy to CNE and STAE.
TITLE V
ELECTORAL OFFENCES
Article 51
Obstruction to candidacy
Any person who, in any manner whatsoever, prevents another person, political party or party coalition, from participating in the electoral process, shall be punished with coercive detention of one to two years or fine between 500 and 1,000 US dollars.
Article 52
Candidature of an ineligible citizen
Any person without passive electoral capacity who knowingly presents his or her candidacy shall be punished with coercive detention of up to year or fine of up to 500 US dollars.
Article 53
Illicit electoral propaganda
1. Any person who employs legally prohibited propaganda or continues to employ it in any manner whatsoever past the time limit published in article 28 or in a prohibited location shall be punished with coercive detention of up to three months or fine of up to 100 US dollars.
2. Any person who prevents the exercise of the right to electoral propaganda or destroys it illegitimately shall be punished by coercive detention of up to 6 months or fine of up to 200 US dollars.
Article 54
Obstruction to freedom of choice
1. Any person who uses violence or threatens to use violence against any elector or who employs deceit, fraudulent trickery, false news or any other illegal means to force the elector not to vote or to vote in a certain direction, or to abstain from voting or to buy votes, shall be punished with coercive detention of up to 2 years or fine of up to 1,000 US dollars.
2. The penalties provided for in item 1 above shall be applied to any person who, when asked to assist a blind citizen in his or her vote or to assist somebody legally entitled to such assistance, expresses unfaithfully the vote cast.
Article 55
Disturbance of the voting
1. Any person who, by any means whatsoever, disturbs the functioning of the polling centre or polling station, shall be punished with coercive detention of up to one year or fine of up to 500 US dollars.
2. The perpetrator shall be punished with coercive detention from six months to two years or fine between 200 and 1,000 US dollars if the disturbance results from:
a) Violence or acts of violence;
b) Disturbance near the polling centre or polling station;
c) Intentional cut of electricity;
d) Absence of somebody who is indispensable to the voting if, for this reason, the voting is considered seriously affected in its commencement or unfolding.
3. The provisions contained in items 1 and 2 above shall be applicable if the acts are committed at the time of the tabulation of the results after the voting has been completed.
Article 56
Obstructing supervision of the voting
Any person who, by any means whatsoever, prevents the delegate of any candidacy from exercising their powers, shall be punished with coercive detention of up to 1 year or fine of up to 500 US dollars.
Article 57
Violation of the right to vote
1. Any person who does not have electoral capacity or, having electoral capacity, casts his or her vote more than once, shall be punished with coercive detention of up to two years or fine of up to 1,000 US dollars.
2. The same penalty shall apply to any person who fraudulently allows the commitment of the acts outlined in item 1 above.
Article 58
Violation of the counting
1. Any person who, by any means whatsoever, subverts the counting of votes in the process of tabulation or publication of the electoral results, shall be punished with coercive detention from six months to three years or fine between 200 and 2,000 US dollars.
2. The same penalty shall apply to any person who fraudulently replaces, destroys, suppresses, violates, subverts, or falsifies ballot papers or tabulation papers or documents relating to the election.
Article 59
Non-compliance with duties to participate in the electoral procedure
Any person who has been appointed to be part of the polling centre or polling station and who does not fulfill or abandons these functions without proper justification shall be punished with coercive detention of up to three months or fine of up to 100 US dollars.
Article 60
Violation of secrecy of vote
Any person who violates the secrecy of vote by obtaining or disclosing knowledge of the direction of vote of another person shall be punished with coercive detention of up to six months or fine of up to 200 US dollars.
Article 61
Breach of duties of neutrality and impartiality
Members of the electoral administration or collaborating with it who breach the duties of neutrality and impartiality shall be punished with coercive detention of up to two years or fine of up to 1,000 US dollars.
Article 62
Infringement of freedom of electoral assembly
Any person who prevents the holding or carrying out of a meeting, demonstration, rally, parade or march of electoral campaign shall be punished with coercive detention of up to two years or fine of up to 1,000 US dollars.
Article 63
Non-compliance with other obligations
Any person who does not comply with any obligations arising from the present law, or who does not undertake the acts necessary for its compliance, or who unjustifiably delays its compliance, shall, in the absence of applicable legal provision, be punished with coercive detention of up to one year or fine of up to 500 US dollars.
TITLE VI
FINAL AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS
Article 64
Exemptions
Documents required for presentation of candidacies, notary certifications on documents for electoral purposes, and complaints or appeals referred to in the present law, shall be exempt of any charges and fees or costs.
Article 65
Regulation
1. The norms of procedure relating to presentation of candidacies, electoral campaign, the functioning of the polling stations and the counting of votes and tabulation of results shall be contained in regulations prepared by STAE and approved by CNE.
2. The conduct of candidates, observers, delegates and media professionals shall be guided by codes of conduct approved pursuant to item 1 above.
3. The regulations and codes of conduct referred to in items 1 and 2 above shall be approved in a meeting to that effect to be held in the week following the respective swearing-in ceremony.
Article 66
National and international observers
1. Electoral observer shall mean an individual representing a national or international organization who requests his or her registration with STAE and is accepted as such.
2. The functions of an observer shall namely be the following:
a) Follow up on the unfolding of the voting operations from the installation of the polling centre or polling station up until its closure;
b) Follow up the transportation of the ballot boxes, which shall be transparent in colour, as well as other items from the polling centre or polling station to the district tabulation station;
c) Follow up on the process of counting of votes and tabulation of results;
d) Prepare a report of the observation whenever so requested.
3. The acquisition of the status of national or international observer and the performance of the respective functions shall be in compliance with rules contained in a code of conduct to be prepared by STAE and approved by CNE.
Article 67
Judicial functions
Until such a time as STJ initiates its functions, the competencies attributed to it in the present law shall be exercised by the Court of Appeals.
Article 68
Revocations
1. The following regulations are expressly revoked:
a) UNTAET Regulation No. 2001/2, of 26 February;
b) UNTAET Regulation No. 2002/3, of 23 March;
c) UNTAET Regulation No. 2001/11, of 13 July.
2. Statutes or norms that are contrary to the provisions of the present law are also hereby revoked.
Article 69
Entry into force
The present law shall enter into force on the day after its publication.
Approved on 18 December 2006.
The Speaker of the National Parliament,
Francisco Guterres “Lu-Olo”
Promulgated on 22 December 2006.
To be published.
The President of the Republic
Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão
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OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF TIMOR-LESTE
LAW No. 7/2006
of 28 December
LAW ON THE ELECTION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC
Pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1338/01 of 31 January, it is the responsibility of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) to ensure free and fair elections in Timor-Leste in cooperation with the Timorese people. To that effect, Regulations 2002/1 (On the election of the first President of an Independent and Democratic East Timor) and 2002/2 (On electoral offences in relation to the election of the first President) were promulgated in 2002. On that same year, the first presidential elections took place.
The Constituent Assembly, elected on 30 August 2001, approved the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste on 22 March 2002, and the same Constitution entered into force on 20 May 2002.
The election of the President of the Republic is a fundamental act of the free and democratic life of all Timorese with voting capacity. The entry of this law into the internal juridical order currently in force in the country is therefore of particular importance as this law regulates the election of this organ of sovereignty which is the symbol and guarantor of national independence, of unity of the State, and of the regular functioning of the democratic institutions.
The present law underscores the independent and suprapartisan character of the presidential magistracy, which is reflected in the obligation that the presentation of presidential candidacies be made by a minimum number of 5,000 voting citizens from all districts, and that none of the candidacies can be represented by less than 100 proposers.
The present law also defines fundamental principles relating to the electoral campaign and establishes general norms relating to the presentation of candidacies, mode of election and voting procedure, the detailed definition of which is subject to regulation.
From the procedural viewpoint, the present law does not distance itself from the procedural scheme inherent to the draft-law on the election of the National Parliament, the objective being to lend coherence and harmony to the emerging Timorese electoral system.
Thus, pursuant to item 5 of article 65 and to paragraph h), item 2, of article 95, of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, the National Parliament decrees the following to have the force of law:
TITLE I
SCOPE AND GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Article 1
Scope
The present law shall regulate the election of the President of the Republic.
Article 2
General principles
1. The President of the Republic shall be elected through universal, free, direct, equal, secret, personal, and regular suffrage.
2. The President of the Republic shall be elected for a period of five years.
3. The term of office of the President of the Republic may be renewed only once.
Article 3
Definition
The President of the Republic is the Head of State, the symbol and guarantor of national independence, of unity of the State, and of the regular functioning of the democratic institutions.
TITLE II
VOTING CAPACITY
Article 4
Active electoral capacity
1. Active electoral capacity is granted to all Timorese citizens over 17 years of age residing in the national territory.
2. In order to be able to exercise the right of vote it shall be a mandatory condition to be registered in the voter registration.
Article 5
Active electoral disability
The following are not granted active electoral capacity:
a) Individuals judicially disabled due to a sentence imposed by a court of law;
b) Individuals clearly and publicly known as mentally ill even where they are not judicially disabled.
Article 6
Passive electoral capacity
To stand as presidential candidates, Timorese citizens should meet the following requirements cumulatively:
a) Original citizenship;
b) At least thirty-five years of age;
c) To be in possession of his or her full faculties.
Article 7
Ineligibility
The following are ineligible to run for President of the Republic:
a) Judicial magistrates or public prosecutors in service;
b) Serving career diplomats;
c) Civil servants in service;
d) Members of the Timor-Leste defense force (FALINTIL-FDTL) in service; Members of the police in service;
e) Ministers of any religion or cult;
f) Members of the national electoral commission.
Article 8
Immunities and privileges of candidates
1. No candidate can be held in preventive detention during the electoral process, except in cases of “flagrante delicto” for committing a fraudulent crime punishable with coercive detention of more than one year.
2. During the electoral campaign, candidates shall be entitled to be released from the exercise of their respective professional functions, public or private, and the period of time spent in the electoral campaign shall be considered as time of effective service, including for purposes of compensation.
TITLE III
ELECTORAL SYSTEM
Article 9
Single constituency
There shall be one single constituency in the election of the President of the Republic, corresponding to the entire national territory, headquartered in Dili.
Article 10
Method of election
The President of the Republic shall be elected on a uninominal list, and each voter shall be entitled to one single vote.
Article 11
Election criterion
1. The election of the President of the Republic shall be conducted through the system based on the majority of validly expressed votes, excluding blank votes.
2. Where no candidate obtains more than the half of the validly expressed votes, a second voting shall be held.
3. Only the two candidates obtaining the highest number of votes shall be eligible to stand in a run-off election, provided they have not withdrawn their candidacies.
TITLE IV
ORGANIZATION OF THE ELECTORAL PROCESS
CHAPTER I
SCHEDULING OF THE DATE OF ELECTIONS
Article 12
Scheduling of elections
1. After consulting the Government and the political parties seating in Parliament, the President of the Republic shall schedule by decree the election date with a minimum of 60 days in advance.
2. In the case provided for in item 2 above, the second voting shall be held 30 days after the first voting.
3. The first voting shall be held up to one week before the term of office of the outgoing President expires.
4. Elections for organs of sovereignty should not take place simultaneously and there should be a minimum period of 3 weeks separating them.
Article 13
Electoral calendar
The Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration (STAE), shall publish the calendar of the electoral operations in the Official Gazette within 8 days from the publication of the decree referred to in item 1 of Article 12 above.
Article 14
Death, resignation, permanent disability, of destitution
In case of death, resignation, permanent disability, or destitution of the President of the Republic, the election shall be held within the 90 days following the verification or declaration thereof.
CHAPTER II
PRESENTATION OF CANDIDACIES
Article 15
Power of nominating candidacies
1. Candidacies shall be presented by a minimum number of 5,000 and a maximum number of 7,500 voting citizens from all districts and no district may be represented by less than 100 proposers.
2. Each voting citizen may only propose one single candidacy.
Article 16
Place and deadline for presenting candidacies
Candidacies shall be presented to the President of the Supreme Court of Justice (STJ) within a period of 20 days from the date of publication of the decree scheduling the election day.
Article 17
Formal requisites for presenting candidacies
1. Presenting a candidacy shall consist in handing over a statement expressing the will to present a candidate to the election of the President of the Republic and a statement of acceptation of the candidacy.
2. The statement shall contain the date of the election, the number of signatures of voting citizens as required in item 1 of article 15, the identification data of the candidate and the representative of the candidacy, and shall be accompanied by a proof of registration of the proposers with the voter registration.
3. The statement is further accompanied by an authenticated photocopy of the voting card and by documents that can prove the following as regards the candidate:
a) A minimum of 35 years of age;
b) Original Timorese citizenship;
4. The statement shall also be accompanied by an authenticated photocopy of the voting card of the representative of the candidacy.
5. At the moment of presenting the candidacy, the candidate shall attach the statement of candidacy signed by him or her, in which he or she shall declare that he or she is not affected by any ineligibility and that he or she accepts the candidacy, and shall nominate the representative of candidacy.
Article 18
Representatives of candidacies
In presenting candidacies, each candidate shall be represented by a person designated by them.
Article 19
Draw of candidacies
1. On the day following the end of the time limit for presentation of candidacies, the President of STJ shall proceed to a draw of the candidacies in the presence of the candidates or their representatives who are present in the draw of the submitted lists in order to determine their order on the ballot paper, and
shall draft the respective minutes thereafter.
2. The holding of the draw and the printing of the ballot papers shall not imply the admission of the candidacies and they shall be considered ineffective with respect to the list or lists that are definitively rejected.
3. The result of the draw shall be posted on the door of the building headquartering STJ, and a copy thereof shall be forwarded to the National Electoral Commission (CNE) and STAE.
Article 20
Admission of candidacies
1. After the draw, the President of STJ shall verify the legitimacy of the process as well as the authenticity of the comprising documents and the eligibility of the candidates.
2. For the purposes of item 1 above, the President of STJ shall be supported by the services of STAE.
3. Ineligible candidates shall be rejected.
4. Upon detection of a breach of procedure, the representative of the candidate shall be immediately notified to correct the irregularity within 2 days.
5. The decision, covering all the candidacies, shall be announced within 10 days from the end of the time limit for presentation of candidacies and shall be immediately communicated to the representatives of the candidates, CNE, and STAE.
Article 21
Appeals
1. Appeals against decisions relating to presentation of candidacies shall be filed with STJ within a period of one day.
2. Petitions lodging appeals, duly substantiated, shall be accompanied by all pieces of evidence.
3. Appeals shall be decided upon within 2 days from the end of the time limit referred to in item 1 above.
Article 22
Announcement of accepted candidacies
1. Lists of candidacies definitively accepted shall be immediately forwarded to CNE and STAE.
2. STAE shall promote the public announcement of the candidacies definitively accepted, namely through the national radio and other media, for 3 consecutive days.
Article 23
Single candidacy
Where a single candidacy has been accepted, the electoral process shall observe all its procedural steps, with the necessary adaptations.
Article 24
Withdrawal of candidacy
1. Any candidate intending to withdraw his or her candidacy may do so up to seventy-two hours before election day through his or her written statement recognized by a notary public and presented to the President of STJ.
2. Once the statement of withdrawal of candidacy has been verified, the President of STJ shall immediately post a copy thereof on the door of the building headquartering the Court and shall notify CNE and STAE thereof.
3. After the first voting has been held, the eventual withdrawal of any of the two candidates with the highest number of votes may only occur within 48 hours from the first voting.
4. In case of withdrawal pursuant to item 3 above, the remaining candidates shall be invited in accordance with the voting order so that, up to the fourth day from the first voting day, they may communicate their eventual withdrawal.
Article 25
Death or permanent disability of the candidate
1. It shall be incumbent upon the Prosecutor-General to present a certificate of death or request the nomination of 3 medical experts to verify the disability of the candidate, providing STJ with all the details in his or her possession.
2. Within a period not exceeding 1 day, STJ, meeting in plenary, shall verify the death of the candidate or nominate the experts.
3. Unless otherwise instructed by STJ, the experts shall present their report to it within a period of 1 day, after which STJ, meeting in panel, shall decide on the ability of the candidate. Once the death certificate or the disability of the candidate has been verified, the President of STJ shall immediately communicate the respective statement to the President of the Republic.
Article 26
New election date
1. In case of death of any candidate or of any other fact rendering the candidate disabled for the exercise of the presidential magistracy, the electoral process shall be reopened.
2. The President of the Republic shall schedule the new election day within 48 hours from receiving the decision of STJ which verified the death or declared the disability of the candidate.
3. Proposers who repeat the act of presentation of candidacies shall be exempted from re-submitting the documentation previously presented.
CHAPTER III
ELECTORAL CAMPAIGN
Article 27
Period of electoral campaign
1. The electoral campaign shall last for 15 days and shall end 2 days before the day scheduled for election.
Article 28
Principles of the electoral campaign
1. The electoral campaign shall be conducted by observing the following principles:
a) Freedom of electoral propaganda;
b) Equality of opportunities and treatment for all the candidacies;
c) Impartiality of public entities insofar as the candidacies are concerned;
d) Transparency and monitoring of the electoral accounts.
2. CNE shall verify the compliance with these principles, to be applied from the date of scheduling of the election date, and shall adopt measures that ensure their compliance with, and the peaceful unfolding of, the electoral campaign.
Article 29
Electoral propaganda
Electoral propaganda shall mean all the activities directly or indirectly aiming at promoting candidacies, namely the publication of texts or images expressing or reproducing the contents of such activity.
Article 30
Financing
Financing of candidacies shall be governed by specific legislation and, with the necessary adaptations, by the applicable norms of the Law on Political Parties.
CHAPTER IV
POLLING STATIONS
Article 31
Polling stations
1. There shall be at least one polling centre in each Suco and, depending on the number of voters or the distance between the hamlets that compose the suco, STAE may establish additional polling centres, without prejudice to the need to safeguard the secrecy of vote.
2. There can be more than one polling station in each polling centre.
3. The number and location of polling centres and polling stations shall be announced by STAE 30 days before election day.
Article 32
Working schedule
1. On election day the polling centres and polling stations shall open at 07:00 hours and close at 16:00 hours and they shall work uninterruptedly throughout this period.
2. After the closing time, only voters in the queue waiting to cast their vote shall be allowed to vote, and such fact shall be verified by the queue controller and communicated to the respective president.
Article 33
Electoral officers
Each polling station shall be comprised of 5 electoral officers, as follows:
a) One president;
b) One identification verification officer;
c) One ballot paper controller;
d) One ballot box controller;
e) One queue controller.
2. Only national citizens who can read and write may be electoral officers, and they shall be selected from among local voters and submitted to a preliminary training by STAE;
3. On election day, and for the entire duration of their activities, electoral officers shall be released from the duty to attend their respective job or service, without prejudice to their rights or privileges, including the right to compensation, which can be claimed upon proof of the exercise of such activities issued by STAE.
Article 34
Delegates of candidacies
Candidacies are entitled to nominate delegates to monitor voting operations and tabulation of electoral results and who shall be entitled to the rights and privileges referred to in item 3 of Article 33 above.
Article 35
Prohibition of presence of members of the defense force
1. The presence of members of FALINTIL-FDTL in service in the polling stations shall be prohibited.
2. Only the presence of members Timor-Leste national police (PNTL) in service shall be authorized to stay 25 metres outside of the polling stations.
3. A regulation shall contain the circumstances in which the intervention of members of the security forces referred to in items 1 and 2 above shall be exceptionally authorized.
CHAPTER V
ELECTION
Article 36
Right to vote
1. The act of voting is a right and a civic duty.
2. The right to vote shall be exercised in a direct and personal manner by the voting citizen.
3. Each voter is only allowed to vote once.
4. Managers of public or private services and companies working on election day should arrange for their workers to be released from their duty for the period of time deemed necessary for exercising their right of vote.
Article 37
Freedom and secrecy of vote
Voting shall be free and nobody may be forced to disclose on whom they voted or are going to vote either inside or outside of the polling centre of polling station.
Article 38
Ballot papers
1. Ballot papers shall be rectangular in form and large enough to fit in all the candidacies, and shall be printed in white, smooth, non-transparent paper.
2. Each ballot paper shall contain the names of the candidates and their respective colour photographs, laid down horizontally as per the order determined by the draw, in accordance with a sample to be approved by CNE, under proposal of STAE.
Article 39
Identification of the voter
1. Presentation of an updated voting card shall constitute a necessary condition for the exercise of the right to vote.
2. Voters who have lost their voting card shall request STAE to issue a duplicate up to 2 months before election day.
3. Where the voter does not possess his or her updated voting card on election day, he or she may exercise his or her right to vote by presenting the old voting card or another official document containing a recent photograph.
Article 40
Place for exercising the right of vote
Voters may cast their vote in any polling centre or polling station.
Article 41
Non-voting in a polling centre or polling station
1. Voting may not be held in a polling centre or polling station if it cannot be constituted, if any disturbance occurs that determines the interruption of the electoral operations for more than 2 hours, or if a calamity occurs on election day or on the 3 previous days.
2. Where any of the circumstances referred to in item 1 above occurs, CNE shall convene a new voting to be held in the same polling centre or polling station on the same day of the ensuing week.
Article 42
Blank or null and void vote
1. A vote shall be considered blank when no mark has been written on the ballot paper.
2. The ballot paper shall be considered null and void in the following situations;
a) When more than one box has been selected or pierced or when there are doubts about which box has been selected or pierced;
b) When a box has been selected or pierced corresponding to a list that has been withdrawn from the elections or that has not been admitted.
c) When the ballot paper has been torn or any drawing or erasure has been made or any word has been written on it.
Article 43
Doubts, complaints, and protests
1. Any voter or any of the delegates of the candidacies may raise doubts and file complaints or protests relating to electoral operations.
2. Doubts, complaints, and protests presented during the voting or after it has been completed shall be analyzed immediately by the electoral officers and, in case of need, the latter may consult STAE.
3. Complaints must be the object of a decision approved by a minimum of 3 electoral officers.
4. Decisions shall be communicated to the complainers who, if so wish, may address the complaints to CNE, to be submitted in the respective polling centre or polling station accompanied by all the documents relating to that polling centre.
CHAPTER VI
TABULATION OF RESULTS
Article 44
Counting of votes and initial tabulation
1. Counting of votes shall start immediately after the closing of the polling centre or polling station and the analysis of doubts, complaints and protests and shall be undertaken in the very same place by the electoral officers in the presence of delegates of candidacies and, where they exist, of observers, both national and international, and media professionals.
2. After the counting of the votes or while the counting process is taking place, delegates of candidacies may file claims, which shall be analyzed and decided upon pursuant to items 2 and 3 of article 43 above.
3. Where more than one hour has elapsed since the start of the counting operation and the counting operation has not been completed, the ballot boxes, which shall be transparent in colour, shall be sealed, identified and transported to the district tabulation station after all the ballot papers have been reinserted in them.
4. Once the operations provided for in item 1 above have been completed, and once the doubts and protests presented have been analyzed and the claims have been decided upon or the circumstance referred to in item 3 has been verified, the minutes containing all the pertinent occurrences shall be prepared and immediately forwarded to the district tabulation station.
Article 45
District tabulation station
1. District counting stations shall be composed of one member of CNE, who shall preside it over, one STAE district representative, a half of the presidents of the district polling stations who are nominated by a draw, and a half of the brigadists of STAE pertaining to the respective district.
2. Delegates of the candidacies and, where they exist, observers and media professionals, may be present at the district tabulation station.
3. District tabulation stations shall reopen the ballot boxes, which shall be transparent in colour, in the case provided for in item 3 of article 46 above, shall count the votes at the district level, based on the minutes of initial tabulation forwarded by the polling centres and polling stations of the respective district, and shall prepare the minutes thereof, which shall be forwarded by the safest way to the national electoral commission within 2 days from the election day, together with the null votes, the protested votes, and the complaints, where they exist, with copy to the national directorate of STAE.
4. The tabulation of results shall take place uninterruptedly until such a time as all ballot papers have been counted.
5. It shall be incumbent upon PNTL to guarantee the security of the district counting headquarters, pursuant to item 2 of article 35 above.
Article 46
National tabulation centre
1. Within seventy-two hours of receiving the district tabulation minutes, CNE shall proceed to the national tabulation by verifying the district tabulation minutes and deciding definitively on the ballot papers considered null and subject to protests forwarded to it, including the complaints filed pursuant to item 4 of Article 43.
2. Once the operations referred to in item 1 above have been completed, and within the same time limit, CNE shall prepare the minutes of the provisional tabulation of the national results and shall post it on its headquarters, with copy to STAE and the national media.
Article 47
Appeals
1. Appeals against the provisional tabulation of the national results published by CNE shall be filed within 24 hours of their posting with the plenary of STJ, which shall immediately notify the interested parties and make a decision within the same time limit.
2. After the time limit provided for in item 1 above has been expired without any appeal being filed, CNE shall forward the minutes of the tabulation of the national results to STJ together with the minutes of district tabulation as well as any other documents it deems important, with a clear indication that no appeal has been filed.
Article 48
Proclamation of results and validation of election
1. Once appeals have been decided upon pursuant to item 1 of Article 47 above, or after the time limit has been expired without any appeal being filed, STJ shall proceed to the analysis of the documents forwarded to it by CNE and shall issue a decision on the validation of the election for the President of the Republic and, through its President, it shall proclaim the final results within a maximum period of 72 hours, announcing mandatorily the total number of registered and voting electors, of blank and null and void votes, as well as the number and respective percentage of the votes attributed to each candidate and the name of the elected candidate or the names of the two candidates standing in the run-off election.
2. The decision of STJ shall be sent for publication in the Official Gazette, with copy to CNE and STAE.
CHAPTER VII
SECOND VOTING
Article 49
Second voting
The general provisions of the present law, with the necessary adaptations, shall apply to the second voting.
Article 50
Candidates admitted to second voting
1. Based on the results referred to in item 2 of Article 46, the President of STJ shall, within 72 hours, indicate the candidates admitted to second voting through a Notice.
2. On the same day, and after the publication of the Notice referred to in item 1 above, the President of STJ shall proceed to a draw of the candidacies admitted in order to determine their order on the ballot papers.
Article 51
Polling stations and delegates
1. For the purposes of the second voting, the number and location of the polling centres previously determined, as well as the composition of the polling stations, shall remain unchanged.
2. Candidates or their respective representatives may nominate delegates of the candidacies up to 10 days before the holding of the second voting. Absence of nominations shall be construed as a confirmation of the delegates nominated for the first voting.
ELECTORAL OFFENCES
Article 52
Proposer of more than one candidacy
Any person who proposes more than one candidacy shall be punished with coercive detention of up to one year or fine of up to 500 US dollars.
Article 53
Obstruction to candidacy
Any person who, in any manner whatsoever, prevents another person from presenting a candidacy shall be punished with coercive detention of one to 2 years or fine between 500 and 1,000 US dollars.
Article 54
Candidature of an ineligible citizen
Any person without passive electoral capacity who knowingly presents his or her candidacy shall be punished with coercive detention of up to one year or fine of up to 500 US dollars.
Article 55
Illicit electoral propaganda
1. Any person who employs legally prohibited propaganda or continues to employ it past the time limit established in article 27 or in a prohibited location shall be punished with coercive detention of up to 3 months or fine of up to 100 US dollars.
2. Any person who prevents the exercise of the right to electoral propaganda or destroys it illegitimately shall be punished with coercive detention of up to 6 months or fine of up to 200 US dollars.
Article 56
Obstruction to freedom of choice
1. Any person who uses violence or threatens to use violence against any elector or who employs deceit, fraudulent trickery, false news or any other illegal means to force the elector not to vote or to vote in a certain direction, or to abstain from voting or to buy votes, shall be punished with coercive detention of up to 2 years or fine of up to 1,000 US dollars.
2. The penalties provided for in item 1 above shall be applied to any person who, when asked to assist a blind person in his or her vote or to assist somebody legally entitled to such assistance, expresses the vote in a different direction.
Article 57
Disturbance of the voting
1. Any person who, by any means whatsoever, disturbs the functioning of the polling station, shall be punished with coercive detention of up to 1 year or fine of up to 500 US dollars.
2. The perpetrator shall be punished with coercive detention from 6 months to 2 years or fine between 200 and 1,000 US dollars if the disturbance results from:
a) Violence or acts of violence;
b) Disturbance near the polling centre or polling station;
c) Intentional cut of electricity;
d) Absence of somebody who is indispensable to the voting if, for this reason, the voting is considered seriously affected in its commencement or unfolding.
3. The provisions contained in items 1 and 2 above shall be applicable if the acts are committed at the time of the tabulation of the results after the voting has been completed.
Article 58
Obstructing supervision of the voting
Any person who, by any means whatsoever, prevents the delegate of any candidacy from exercising their powers, shall be punished with coercive detention of up to 1 year or fine of up to 500 US dollars.
Article 59
Violation of the right to vote
1. Any person who does not have electoral capacity or, having electoral capacity, votes more than once shall be punished with coercive detention of up to 2 years or fine of up to 1,000 US dollars.
2. The same penalty shall apply to any person who fraudulently allows the commitment of the acts outlined in item 1 above.
Article 60
Violation of the counting of votes
1. Any person who, by any method whatsoever, subverts the counting of votes in the process of tabulation or publication of the electoral results shall be punished with coercive detention from 6 months to 3 years or fine between 200 and 2,000 US dollars.
2. The same penalty shall apply to any person who fraudulently replaces, destroys, suppresses, violates, subverts, or falsifies ballot papers or tabulation papers or documents relating to the elections.
Article 61
Non-compliance with duties to participate in the electoral procedure
Any person who has been appointed to be part of the polling centre or polling station and who does not fulfill or abandons these functions without proper justification shall be punished with coercive detention of up to 3 months or fine of up to 100 US dollars.
Article 62
Violation of secrecy of vote
Any person who violates the secrecy of vote by obtaining or disclosing knowledge of the direction of vote of another person shall be punished with coercive detention of up to 6 months or fine of up to 200 US dollars.
Article 63
Breach of duties of neutrality and impartiality
Members of the electoral administration or collaborating with it who breach the duties of neutrality and impartiality shall be punished with coercive detention of up to 2 years or fine of up to 1,000 US dollars.
Article 64
Infringement of freedom of electoral assembly
Any person who illegitimately prevents the holding or carrying out of a meeting, demonstration, rally, parade or march of electoral campaign shall be punished with coercive detention of up to 2 years or fine of up to 1,000 US dollars.
Article 65
Non-compliance with other obligations
Any person who does not comply with any obligations imposed by the present law, or who does not undertake the acts necessary for its compliance, or who unjustifiably delays its compliance, shall, in the absence of applicable legal provision, be punished with coercive detention of up to 1 year or fine of up to 500 US dollars.
TITLE VI
FINAL AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS
Article 66
Exemptions
Documents required for presentation of candidacies, notary certifications on documents for electoral purposes, and complaints or appeals referred to in the present law, shall be exempt of any charges and fees or costs.
Article 67
Regulation
1. The norms of procedure relating to presentation of candidacies, electoral campaign, the functioning of the polling stations and the counting of votes and tabulation of results shall be contained in regulations prepared by STAE and approved by CNE.
2. The conduct of candidates, observers, delegates and media professionals shall be guided by codes of conduct approved pursuant to item 1 above.
3. The regulations and codes of conduct referred to in items 1 and 2 above shall be approved in a meeting to that effect to be held in the week following the respective swearing-in ceremony.
Article 68
National and international observers
1. Electoral observer shall mean an individual representing a national or international organization who requests his or her registration with STAE and is accepted as such.
2. The functions of an observer shall namely be the following:
a) Follow up on the unfolding of the voting operations from the installation of the polling centre or polling station up until its closure;
b) Follow up the transportation of the ballot boxes, which shall be transparent in colour, as well as other items from the polling centre or polling station to the district tabulation station;
c) Follow up on the process of counting of votes and tabulation of results;
d) Prepare a report of the observation whenever so requested.
3. The acquisition of the status of national or international observer and the performance of the respective functions shall be in compliance with rules contained in a code of conduct to be prepared by STAE and approved by CNE.
Article 69
Transitional provision
Until such a time as the Supreme Court of Justice initiates its functions, the competencies attributed to it in the present law shall be exercised by the Court of Appeals, pursuant to article164 of the Constitution.
Article 70
Revocations
1. The following are expressly revoked:
a) UNTAET Regulation No. 2002/1, of 16 January;
b) UNTAET Regulation No. 2002/2, of 5 March.
2. Also revoked are the statutes or norms the contents of which are contrary to the present law.
Article 71
Entry in force
The present law shall enter into force on the day after its publication.
Approved on 21 December 2006.
Speaker of the National Parliament,
Francisco Guterres “Lu-Olo”
Promulgated on 26 December 2006
To be published
The President of the Republic
Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão
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OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF TIMOR-LESTE
LAW NO. 5/2006
of 28 December
ELECTORAL ADMINISTRATION BODIES
This is an appropriate time to render autonomous the juridical regime of the bodies composing the so-called electoral administration without however repelling the model that is currently in force, which provides for the existence of one superior body having a supervisory role and one technical secretariat under the dependency of the Government.
An essential reason for this autonomization lies on the need to have a separate legal framework for the National Electoral Commission, as this is the body that must exercise jurisdiction over all the electoral processes pertaining to the elective organs of sovereignty, of local government, and referenda. Moreover, the voter registration process (compulsory, unofficial, and universal) is the same for all elections.
Responsibility for preparing, organizing, following up on, and monitoring electoral processes in Timor-Leste should be placed under the same set of bodies taking into consideration the identical nature of the procedural and logistic characteristics to be observed in each of the following three types of general elections to take place through universal, direct, secret and regular suffrage:
- The election of the President of the Republic;
- The election of the National Parliament;
- The election of local government elective bodies.
In this connection, there will have to be as many electoral laws as the number of constitutional positions designated through direct election of the college of voters and to which the referendum shall be added.
It is wise however to entrust the same set of bodies with the juridical and material operations that are necessary for the smooth development of the respective processes, without prejudice to the contentious challenges of the acts that they commit in the exercise of their legal powers.
As regards the electoral acts, such competencies are divided into the typical stages which compose the process, such as:
- The presentation of candidacies;
- The establishment and follow up of the polling stations;
- The electoral campaign and corresponding propaganda activities;
- The voting itself;
- The counting of votes and tabulation of results.
The National Electoral Commission established by the present law with a permanent character is vested with essentially monitoring functions and is strengthened both in its composition and competencies as compared to its predecessor which, under the same designation, supervised the elections for suco chiefs and suco councils. The National Electoral Commission also possesses its own budget and a secretariat, resulting in the strengthening of its autonomy and independence.
Precisely because it is the electoral administration's executive body, it cannot be outside of the purview of the ministry responsible for the respective area, as the Government is the superior body of the Public Administration with adequate financial and material resources to maintain it. The Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration has mainly administrative, organizational, and consultative powers.
As regards polling centres and vote tabulation centres, although their intervention is limited to typical stages of the electoral process (respectively the voting, the counting of votes, and the tabulation of results), they should deserve a particular mention in the present law for reasons of accommodating and systematizing the subject matters and for clarifying the area of intervention for electoral agents. The latter are considered, latu sensu, to be all those who, not being the voters, participate institutionally in the organization of elections.
On a different note, as an eventual stage of the electoral procedure, the jurisdictional control of impeachable acts announced by the electoral administration bodies should, by constitutional imposition, be the responsibility of the courts. It is incumbent upon the courts to, at last resort, examine and decide on the regularity and validity of the acts of the electoral process and to validate and proclaim the final results of each election.
Thus, under articles 65.2, 65.5, 65.6, article 66.5, article 95.2 h), and article 126.2 b) of the Constitution of the Republic, the National Parliament decrees the following to have the force of law:
ELECTORAL ADMINISTRATION BODIES
TITLE I
SCOPE AND GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Article 1
Electoral administration bodies
The electoral administration bodies are:
a) The National Electoral Commission, hereinafter referred to as “CNE”;
b) The Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration, hereinafter referred to as “STAE”;
c) The polling centres and polling stations;
d) The vote tabulation centres.
Article 2
General competencies
1. Electoral administration bodies shall exercise functions relating to all electoral acts pertaining to organs of sovereignty, referenda, or local government.
2. Electoral Administration Bodies shall be bound by the principle of strict impartiality and objectivity in the exercise of their functions.
Article 3
Appealability of electoral administration acts
Appeals against decisions made by electoral administration bodies in the framework of their competencies shall be filed with the Supreme Court of Justice, hereinafter referred to as “STJ”, under the terms and conditions provided for in the law and regulations governing the respective election or referendum.
TITLE II
NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION
CHAPTER I
NATURE AND COMPOSITION
Article 4
Definition and functions
1. The National Electoral Commission is hereby created, and it shall be the competent body to supervise the electoral acts referred to by the present law and regulations enforcing the electoral or referenda laws.
2. CNE shall be independent from any bodies of the central or local political power and shall enjoy financial, administrative and organizational autonomy.
Article 5
Composition
1. CNE shall be composed of fifteen members, as follows:
a) Three members appointed by the President of the Republic;
b) Three members elected by the National Parliament;
c) Three members appointed by the Government;
d) One judicial magistrate elected by his or her peers;
e) One public prosecution magistrate elected by his or her peers;
f) One public defender elected by his or her peers;
g) One nominated by the Catholic Church;
h) One nominated by the remaining religious faiths;
i) One representative of women organizations.
2. The organs referred to in sub-paragraphs a) to c) of item 1 above must nominate, at least, one woman.
3. The organs referred to in sub-paragraphs a) to i) of item 1 above shall appoint, nominate, or elect, at least one substitute member.
4. Only citizens of recognized competency with no responsibilities in a political party leadership or in electoral candidacies may be appointed or elected for CNE.
5. The period for appointing or electing members for CNE shall be fixed by notification of the National Parliament published in the Official Gazette, without prejudice to article 14.
Article 6
Status
1. Members of CNE cannot be removed from office and shall be independent in the exercise of their mandate, accumulating such mandate with the professional functions they exercise.
2. Members of CNE are entitled to a daily subsistence allowance for every meeting or working session in which they participate, the amount of which shall be established by a decree-law.
3. During the effective exercise of their functions, members of CNE shall be released from the exercise of their professional functions, public or private, and shall maintain all the rights inherent to their employment legal status.
4. In case of vacancy, members of CNE shall, within a period of thirty days from the date of the occurrence of the vacancy, be replaced by the respective substitute member or, in the absence of the latter, under the same terms in which the member to be replaced was nominated.
5. Members of CNE are further entitled to an identification card, the model of which shall be approved by CNE.
6. Members of CNE shall forfeiture their mandate in case they submit their candidacies to any election process for organs of sovereignty or local government.
Article 7
Mandate
1. Members of CNE shall have a six-year term and shall only have a maximum of two terms in office.
2. Members of CNE shall take office before the Speaker of the National Parliament within thirty days from the date of their nomination.
3. Members of CNE shall keep their functions until the new CNE takes office.
CHAPTER II
COMPETENCY AND FUNCTIONING
Article 8
Competency
The following shall be the competencies of CNE:
a) Supervise the electoral process;
b) Ensure the enforcement of constitutional and legal provisions relating to the electoral process;
c) Approve the enforcing regulations provided for in the present law and other electoral laws, as well as the codes of conduct for candidates, observers, monitors and media professionals;
d) Promote the objective clarification of the citizens about the electoral act through the media;
e) Ensure equality of treatment for citizens in all acts of voter registration and electoral operations;
f) Ensure equality of opportunities and freedom of propaganda of the candidacies during the electoral campaign;
g) Examine and certify party coalitions for electoral purposes;
h) Notify the Office of the Public Prosecution about any acts known to it that may amount to electoral offence;
i) Prepare and submit to STJ the provisional minutes with the national results so that the final results of the general elections can be validated and proclaimed;
j) Perform other functions assigned to it by law.
Article 9
Functioning
1. The Speaker of the National Parliament shall convene the first meeting of CNE and inaugurate its members.
2. In its first meeting, CNE shall elect its chairperson from among its members.
3. CNE shall function in plenary, having quorum, with the presence of eight of its members.
4. Decisions shall be taken by consensus or, where this is not possible, by deliberation with the favorable vote of at least eight members.
5. The director of STAE shall participate in the meetings of CNE without a right to vote.
6. A press communiqué shall be issued at the end of each meeting and shall cover the issues discussed
and the decisions made.
Article 10
Obligation of Collaboration
1. In the exercise of its competencies, CNE shall receive all the necessary support from the bodies and staff of the Public Administration to enable it carry out its functions.
2. For the purposes of item 1 above, STAE shall provide CNE with the support and collaboration requested by the latter.
Article 11
Secretariat and budget
1. CNE shall be supported by a permanent secretariat and shall have its own budget integrated in the State Budget, pursuant to the law.
2. CNE shall prepare and approve its own rules of procedure.
TITLE III
TECHNICAL SECRETARIAT FOR ELECTORAL ADMINISTRATION
Article 12
Nature, composition and competencies
1. The structure, organization, composition, competencies and functioning of STAE shall be defined by law, which must define it as an executive body of electoral administration under the dependency of the competent ministry.
2. Acts of STAE relating to operations of voter registration and of a logistic and administrative nature pertaining to elections or referenda shall be supervised by CNE, without prejudice to it being dependent on the competent ministry.
TITLE IV
POLLING CENTRES, POLLING STATIONS AND VOTE TABULATION CENTRES
Article 13
Nature, composition and competencies
Polling centres, polling stations and vote tabulation centres shall have the nature, composition, and competencies resulting from the electoral law relating to the election in which they are to intervene and from applicable regulations prepared by CNE or STAE in the framework of their respective powers.
TITLE IV
FINAL AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS
Article 14
First appointment or election of CNE members
For the first electoral act to take place after the entry into force of the present law, the appointment, designation or election of the members of CNE shall take place within 15 days from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.
Article 15
Judicial functions
Until such a time as the STJ starts its functions, the competencies to be exercised by it in terms of electoral matters shall be exercised by the Court of Appeals.
Article 16
Revocations
1. Part V of Law No. 2/2004 of 18 February, comprising articles 29 to 35, is hereby expressly revoked, and the body similar to CNE provided for in that Law is considered extinct.
2. Statutes or norms contrary to the present law are also hereby revoked.
Article 17
Entry into force
The present law shall enter into force on the day after its publication.
Approved on 6 December 2006
The Speaker of the National Parliament
Francisco Guterres “Lu-Olo”
Promulgated on 19 December 2006
To be published
The President of the Republic
Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão
23/01/2007: No Arrest Warrant For MAjor, Chief Prsecutor
Dili, 23 Jan. (AKI) - The office of East Timor's prosecutor-general has not issued a warrant to arrest fugitive Major Alfredo Alves Reinado. In an interview with Adnkronos International (AKI) chief prosecutor, Longuinhos Monteiro, said that the news circulated in the last few days is just a rumor and that Major Reinado has showed willingness to solve the standoff. "Those people spreading these rumors are the ones creating trouble and confusion among the people in the country," Monteiro told Adnkronos International (AKI) Tuesday.
"Any arrest must be based on the penal code and on the Constitution of East Timor. And Major Alfredo has shown good intentions to improve the judicial system of this country," he added, without elaborating.
The rumors of a warrant of arrest against Major Reinado spread in Dili after East Timor's minister of justice, Domingos Sarmento, told AKI that the renegade soldier is considered a criminal and will be brought to justice.
Meanwhile, contacted via phone, Major Reinado said that he will resist arrest and that he will consider discussing the accusations levied against him, only after the authorities resolve the case of April 28, 2006.
"The authorities must find those accountable for the April 28's case, before trying to catch me," Major Reinado told AdnKronos International from his hideout in the district of Ermera.
On April 28 former East Timor Prime Minister, Mari Alkatiri, ordered the Army to quash a protest that was taking place in front of the government palace. Five civilians were killed in the clashes that ensued.
Major Reinado abandoned the army on 4 May 2006 to join approximately 600 former soldiers who had been dismissed two months before, after complaining of ethnic discrimination over promotions. He was then arrested for his role in the violence. He escaped from prison on 30 August, 2006.
The authorities want to question him in particular for the facts of May 23, 2006 when Major Reinado, and other renegade soldiers, confronted members of the regular army and police in Fatuahi hill, near Dili. The clash left two soldiers and one police officer dead.
Major Reinado's stance is supported by The National United Movement for Justice [Muvimento Unidade National ba Justicia MUNJ], a powerful lobbyist group established by Major Augusto "Tara" de Araujo and which counts on the support of part of the country's intellectual community. The MUNJ was very active in protesting against Alkatiri, last June.
"The Prosecutor-General should not arrest Major Reinado. Instead he should arrest Alkatiri and [former interior minister] Rogerio Lobato," MUNJ spokesperson Augusto Junior said, during a press conference held in Dili on Tuesday.
"If he [the Prosecutor-General] will not arrest Alkatiri and Lobato, then the people will have to hold popular justice against these two former leaders," he added.
21/01/2007: Violence kills two in East Timor
Two youths were hacked to death in Dili Sunday as violence involving disciples from rival martial art schools erupted, witnesses said.
The youths, one of whom was a member of the national police, were killed as they walked home from church in the East Timor capital, a witness said.
"They were attacked while on their way home. One youth died on the spot and slumped on the road," said witness Crispin Lopez.
"The police member was slashed in the neck and died as he attempted to run home, while the other was seriously wounded in an attack at his home."
A third youth suffered from slash wounds in a separate attack not far away, he added. Violence was also reported near the UN mission in Caicoli.
A mob attacked the house of a martial art trainer and injured four youths but the rapid intervention of a Portuguese police unit prevented more violence. Shots were fired into the air, witnesses said.
Stone-throwing between youths from rival groups was also reported in the Kolmera commercial district, but a strong UN police presence quickly put an end to the violence, they added.
An outbreak of violence in Dili in May 2006 saw 37 killed when clashes between security force factions degenerated into street violence, pitting members of street gangs and rival martial art schools against eachother.
More people have since been killed in sporadic violence in Dili and surrounding districts.
The violence prompted the fledgling nation to seek the deployment of foreign peacekeepers and UN police, and the installation of a new government in July headed by Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta, a Nobel Peace Prize winner.
19/01/2007: East Timor : Fugitive Major Will go to Jail, Says Justice Minister
Dili, 19 Jan. (AKI) - East Timor's minister of justice, Domingos Sarmento, has brushed off rumours of a possible 'peaceful deal' to end the saga of renegade Major Alfredo Alves Reinado, who led an uprising and is wanted by the authorities in connection with murder charges but lives peacefully in the district of Ermera, surrounded by a group of armed associates. In an interview with Adnkronos International (AKI) Sarmento said that Major Reinado, and the other 55 inmates who escaped from Dili's Becora prison, are fugitives that must be arrested and jailed.
Major Reinado is a fugitive and the government considers him a criminal and will bring him to justice," Sarmento told Adnkronos International on Friday. "If he is a gentleman, I appeal for him to surrender and face justice. If not, he will be captured one day. There is no mercy for him and the other inmates who escaped from prison," he added.
Sarmento's outburst follows weeks of semi-clandestine meetings that have seen Major Reinado talking with government representatives and members of the United Nations Integrated Mission in East Timor [UNMIT] on ways to solve the standoff peacefully.
Reached on the phone by AKI, Major Reinado rejected Justice Minister Sarmento's conclusions and advised him to brush his knowledge of the law.
It is better if he [Minister of Justice Domingos Sarmento] studies more about the law. His statement shows that he is not well educated. There has not been a tribunal decision on my case, so I cannot be considered a criminal," he said from his hideout, on Friday. "As I have said repeatedly: I am innocent as long as the tribunal does not say otherwise. I have not been found guilty of murdering any one," he added.
Major Reinado abandoned the army on 4 May 2006 to join approximately 600 former soldiers who had been dismissed two months before, after complaining of ethnic discrimination over promotions. He was then arrested for his role in the violence that ensued and accused in conjunction of the murder of five people. He escaped from prison on 30 August, 2006.
Major Reinado has stated several times that he will one day face justice for his part in the violence which has rocked the tiny Southeast Asian country since May. However, he has also stated that he does not want to be a "scapegoat" or considered the "only guilty party."
17/01/2007: Amnesties OK for Timor Leste rights violators, says body
The Commission for Truth and Friendship (KKP) will leave the granting of amnesties for human rights violators in Timor Leste to the Indonesian and Timor Leste governments.
Commission member Lt. Gen. (ret) Agus Widjojo said Tuesday that amnesty should, however, be given to those who had been co-operative in giving information to KKP inquiry.
"In the commission's terms of reference there is one clause saying that we can recommend names that should be given amnesty ... on the condition that they are co-operative in our inquiry," Agus told The
Jakarta Post.
He said that the primary task of the KKP was to uncover the truth surrounding the violence that took place in the aftermath of the 1999 referendum in East Timor, in which more than 90 percent of East Timorese voted to split from Indonesia.
"Our task is to investigate whether institutional accountability will be required," he said.
Earlier this month, members of the commission had agreed to make recommendations to the Indonesian and Timor Leste governments about amnesties for the perpetrators of the violence.
The United Nations has estimated that at least 1,500 people were killed by militia groups backed by the Indonesian Military (TNI) in the aftermath of the 1999 referendum.
A number of Indonesian generals, including former TNI chief and defense minister Gen. (ret) Wiranto, are among the military members expected to be summoned by the KKP.
The commission, modeled on similar restorative justice bodies set up in South Africa, Chile and Argentina, has no power to prosecute alleged human rights violators. However, it can make recommendations to the Indonesian and Timor Leste governments on granting amnesties and providing compensation and rehabilitation to victims.
The body was set up last year after the United Nations expressed dissatisfaction with Indonesia's earlier attempts to bring the perpetrators of rights violations to justice. At the time, it threatened to take the cases to an international tribunal.
The commission is expected to wrap up its inquiry on July 31. Rafendi Djamin of the Human Rights Working Group condemned the KKP's recommendation that alleged perpetrators of human rights violations in East Timor be given amnesties.
"It has been agreed by the international community that gross human rights violations did take place in East Timor and the perpetrators must stand trial for that. There is no such thing as amnesty for the perpetrators," Rafendi told the Post.
Rafendi said that the Indonesian government risked losing its credibility as a champion of human rights should it follow the recommendation. He said that the commission was flawed from its inception and only focused on pursuing the truth rather than justice.
Rafendi said the international community was now waiting for the KKP's final conclusions.
"The whole world is watching now," he said.
17/01/2007: Timor Leste Crisis resurfaces bitter memories
The Democratic Republic of Timor Leste, the world's newest nation emerged from Indonesian colonisation on 27 September 2002, joining the world community as a member of the UN. During the 24-year occupation, human rights violations were rampant-with some 200,000 people said to be killed. After the Timorese people overwhelmingly voted for independence, a rampage by pro-Jakarta militia turned about 70 percent of buildings in the capital Dili into rubble and left the people traumatised.
Facing a difficult road ahead, the UN tried to guide the country into becoming a proud nation; being one of the poorest but with a great sense of belonging in the world community. However, the government was barely able to stand by itself when the UNMISET (UN Mission in Support of East Timor), mandated to strengthen state institutions, left the country. It was succeeded by the UNOTIL (the UN Office in Timor Leste), which watched the country from afar as it returned to chaos.
Unrest
In March 2006, civil unrest sparked by the armed rebellion within the military began. And the UN, which may have left Timor Leste prematurely in 2005, is once again reconsidering its return to the country. The UN has requested the government to apply the rule of engagement for civil servants to restore peace but this seems too tall an order for a government which is barely standing on its feet due to the on-going unrest.
This was followed by the arrival of 3,200 troops of Malaysian and New Zealand army led by the Australian called the Combined Task Force (CTF) on 26 May-to restore peace and order as requested by the government. The troops were stationed in and around Dili city to help reduce gang violence that terrorised the population as the latter looted and burned buildings sporadically. Clashes were associated with several notorious gangs-Calimao 2000 and Gorkas-who took advantage of the lawless atmosphere to beef up civil unrest.
They had recruited young Timorese, who were largely unemployed. Recently, in a mission organised by FORUM-ASIA on 19-23 June 2006, many young Timorese could be seen loitering by the seaside city along deserted streets, selling items such as mobile phone cards, cigarettes and newspapers-a classic sign of the lack of employment opportunities in a post conflict zone.
This conflict began after the armed forces were accused of unfairness and discrimination over ranking promotions and salary discrepancies among its members from the country's two regions, the East (Lorosae) and the West (Loromonu). These dissatisfactions were bottled up since 2002, immediately after the formation of the government, pushing the nation to the brink of conflict.
When the mutiny began, the opposition parties, who comprise a little more than one-third of the 88-seat parliament, hijacked the issue to discredit the government. In their desperate attempt to win the people's support, they accused the ruling party of lack of integrity and transparency. Even without presenting clear proof of the government's unaccountability, the opposition played the killer card of discrimination and heightened the tension.
Prior to the unrest, there has been tension over Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri's style of administration, manifested as early as the drafting of the constitution. Timor President Xanana Gusmao, considered the country's founding father who led the resistance fighters, appears to be content with being merely a ceremonial figurehead when he openly suggested for Alkatiri to resign or he would step down. As of 10 July 2006, Jose Ramos Horta was appointed Prime Minister until the next election which is scheduled in May 2007.
Immediately after the unrest, Indonesia called in its citizens in Timor Leste to leave and temporarily closed their border in order to avoid any confusion that may resurface due to the current unrest. This action received a round of applause from the international community.
Still, the question of impunity remains at large. Many questioned how Indonesia could escape responsibility over the massacres during the occupation after both countries agreed to "bury the past and look into the future". This agreement critically abandoned the UN-backed Commission on Reception, Truth and Reconciliation and opted for "forgiveness" under a Truth and Friendship Commission. Displeasure and unpopularity has since been expressed by the majority of Catholic institutions and the survivors of conflict. But the Timorese government said that the country needed to stand alongside its big neighbour, who supplies 80 percent of its consumer goods and oil.
In the aftermath of the unrest, the international community agreed to help rebuild the nation with a promise of USD 18 million in aid, focused on the return of the internally displaced population to normalcy. The UNOTIL mission's mandate has been extended until August 2006 to support the Independent Special Commission of Inquiry to investigate the deadly incidents and recommending measures to ensure accountability for crimes committed during the period. The Secretary General Special Envoy for Timor Leste, Ian Martin in his recent visit to the country has conducted an assessment on the possibility of having a robust international police force return to Timor Leste for a longer term.
The UN, governments and intergovernmental agencies to support Timor Leste is reshaping the country's administration and state institution consistent with the people's aspiration by means of consultative and participatory approaches. Priority must be given towards providing ample economic opportunity for the vast population. But at the same time, impunity must be addressed for the past injustices committed against the East Timorese population by seeking justice for the victims for the victims during occupation. The Asian Human Rights Defender is the quarterly newsletter of the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Devel
