La’o Hamutuk

Bulletin  |  Surat Popular  |  Radio Igualdade  |  Topic index  |  Reports  |  Updates
Reference  |   Presentations  |  Mission Statement  |  LH Blog  |  Search  |  Home

Early Parliamentary Election: 12 May 2018
Eleisaun Antesipada Parlamentár: 12 Maiu 2018

12 April 2018. Atualiza 23 Jullu 2018

ContentsKonteúdu
Introduction and background

On 7 February 2018, President of the Republic Francisco Guterres Lú-Olo set the date for early Parliamentary elections for 12 May. The President's decision resulted from the political impasse which occurred when the 7th Government only received support from a minority of 30 Members of Parliament, and Parliament did not pass the program of the Government led by Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri.

Previously, in the 2017 Parliamentary Election, FRETILIN won 29.7% of the votes (23 seats), CNRT got 29.5% (22 seats), PLP got 10.6% (8 seats), PD got 9.8% (7 seats), and KHUNTO received 6.4% (5 seats). As the most-voted party, FRETILIN received the right to form a Government, and they needed support from at least 33 Deputies to achieve a Parliamentary majority.

After negotiation with the other political parties, FRETILIN was only able to secure 30 votes through its coalition with PD, and the two parties formed a minority government. CNRT, PLP and KHUNTO formed a majority opposition, becoming the Alliance for Change and Progress (Aliansa Mudansa ba Progresu - AMP) to participate in early Parliamentary elections.

According to RDTL Constitution articles 108 and 109, the Government submits its program to National Parliament for consideration, debate and approval. The Program of the VII Constitutional Government did not pass Parliament, and the Government did not present it for a second time before the President of the Republic decided to call for early elections after hearing from political parties, civil society and religious leaders. A few days later, he set the date for 12 May.

Introdusaun no antesedente

Iha loron 07 Fevreiru 2018 Prezidente da Repúblika Francisco Guterres Lú-Olo determina loron ba Eleisaun Parlamentár Antesipada ne’ebé sei halo iha loron 12 fulan Maiu 2018. Desizaun Prezidente nian ne’e mai nu’udar rezultadu hosi impase polítiku ne’ebé akontese tanba hafoin Governu VII ne’ebé hetan apoiu husi deputadu sira minoria 30 kadeira, Governu ne’ebé lidera hosi Primeiru Ministru Dr. Mari Alkatiri nia programa la pasa iha Parlamentu Nasional.

Molok ne’e iha eleisaun parlamentár iha 2017, FRETILIN manán ho votu 29.7%, CNRT ho votu 29.5%, PLP ho votu 10.6%, PD ho votu 9.8% no KHUNTO ho votu 6.4%. Total kadeira sira iha Parlamentu Nasional fahe tuir votu sira ne’ebé partidu lima ne’e hetan mak FRETILIN ho kadeira 23, CNRT ho kadeira 22, PLP ho kadeira 8, PD ho kadeira 7 no KHUNTO ho kadeira 5. Hafoin rezultadu ida ne’e, FRETILIN hanesan partidu ho votu barak liu, hetan direitu atu forma Governu no presiza asegura kadeira menus liu 33 atu nune’e bele hetan maioria Parlamentár.

Infelizmente, hafoin halo negosiasaun ho partidu polítiku ho votu sira, FRETILIN konsege asegura de’it kadeira 30 liu hosi koligasaun ho PD. Ho nune’e FRETILIN no PD konsege forma de’it Governu ida ne’ebé hetan apoiu minoria iha Parlamentu Nasional. CNRT, PLP no KHUNTO forma opozisaun maioria parlamentár ne’ebé ikus mai hamutuk forma Aliansa Mudansa ba Progresu (AMP) atu hakat ba Eleisaun Parlamentár Antesipada nian.

Tuir Konstituisaun RDTL artigu 108 no 109, Governu halo no hato’o nia programa ba Parlamentu Nasional atu hetan apresiasaun, diskute no aprova.  Programa VII Governu nia la pasa iha Parlamentu Nasional, Governu la aprezenta fali nia programa ba darua too Prezidente Repúblika deside eleisaun antesipada hafoin rona tiha partidu polítiku sira, sosiedade sivíl no lider relijiozu sira.

Process for early elections

After the President decided on early elections, the Technical Secretariat for Election Administration (STAE) and National Elections Commission (CNE) began to organize them for 12 May, and STAE published a registration tabulation on 17 January (updated in April), and a calendar of the electoral process on 21 February.

The Court of Appeals began receiving registrations from political parties and coalitions which were interested to compete.

On 28 March, the Court of Appeals issued the list of parties and coalitions who had passed the process and would be on the ballet. These parties drew numbers for ballot positions, which were allocated as follows:

Prosesu Eleisaun Antesipada

Hafoin Prezidente Repúblika deside eleisaun antesipada, órgaun eleitorál sira hahú organiza prosesu sira ne’ebé sei lori Timor-Leste tama ba iha eleisaun Antesipada, tuir data ne’ebé Prezidente da Repúblika determina ona, no Sekretáriadu Tékniku Administrasaun Eleisaun (STAE) publika Resenseamentu provizóriu iha loron 17 Janeiru (sei atualiza) no Calendário das Operações Eleitorais iha loron 21 Fevreiru.

Tribunal de Rekursu hahú hosi data simu rejistu ba partidu polítiku ka koligasaun sira ne’ebé iha interese atu kompete ba iha Eleisaun Antesipada.

Iha loron 28 Marsu 2018 Tribunal de Rekursu fó sai lista ba partidu polítiku no koligasaun sira ne’ebé mak liu prosesu no atu konkore iha eleisaun antesipada. Partidu no Koligasaun sira tuir númeru sorteiu ne’ebé aloka ona mak hanesan tuir mai ne’e:

  1. Partido Esperança da Pátria (PEP)

  2. Partido Democrático (PD); Kompromisiu Eleitoral

  3. Partidu Republikanu (PR); Programa Politiku

  4. Partido Frente Revolucionária de Timor-Leste Independente (FRETILIN); Programa Governasaun

  5. Movimento Social Democrata (MSD) - Partidu Sosialista Timor (PST), Centro Ação Social Democrata Timorense (CASDT), Partido Social Democrata (PSD) no Partido Democracia Cristão (PDC)

  6. Movimentu Desenvolvimentu Nacional (MDN) - Unidade Nacional Democrática da Resistencia Timorense (UNDERTIM), Movimento Libertasaun Povo Maubere (MLPM), Associacao Popular Monarquia Timorense (APMT), Partido Liberta Povo Aileba (PLPA)

  7. Frenti Dezevolvimentu Demokrátiku (FDD) - Partido Unidade Dezenvolvimentu Demokrátiku (PUDD), União Democrática Timorense (UDT), Frenti Mudança; Plataforma politika, resposta ba LH nia kestionáriu

  8. Aliança Mudança para o Progresso (AMP) - Partido Congresso Nacional de Reconstrução de Timor-Leste (CNRT), Partido da Libertação Popular (PLP) no Klibur Haburas Unidade Nacional Timor Oan (KHUNTO); Programa AMP

On 2 April, STAE circulated the list of the names of candidates on each party slate.

On 9 April, the parties and coalitions signed a Pact of National Unity, committing themselves to a peaceful election. The Human Rights Defenders Network encouraged them to implement that commitment.

The campaign began on 10 April and will continue until 10 May, and the election will be held on 12 May. CNE published a calendar of campaign activities (8MB printed version) and put it on their website.

Iha loron 02 Abril 2018 STAE publika lista kandidatu sira hosi partidu polítiku sira no koligasaun sira.

Iha loron 09 Abril 2018 partidu no koligasaun sira asina Paktu Unidade Nasional, halo kompromisu ba eleisaun pasifika. Rede Defensór Direitus Umanus ejije sira atu tuir kompromisu ida ne'e.

Kampaña hahú iha loron 10 Abril 2018 to’o loron 10 Maiu 2018 no eleisaun sei hala’o iha loron 12 Maiu 2018. CNE publika kalendáriu ba atividade sira durante kampaña (verzaun imprimi 8 MB) iha sira nia website.

Information from La'o Hamutuk (all Tetum)

La'o Hamutuk is distributing a questionnaire asking each party and coalition its positions on key policy issues, and we will publish the responses here as we receive them.

We have also produced a brochure (right) with questions for voters to ask of campaigning politicians.
Materials produced by La'o Hamutuk include:

Informasaun hosi La’o Hamutuk

La’o Hamutuk distribui kestionáriu ida husu pozisaun kada partidu no koligasaun sira nian kona-ba pergunta polítika xave sira no ami sei publika resposta sira bainhira ami simu.

Ami mos produz broxura (liman karuk) ho pergunta ne'ebe eleitor sira bele husu ba partidu no kandidatu sira.

Informasaun hosi La'o Hamutuk inklui:

TVE, with the collaboration of La'o Hamutuk and the Core Group on Transparency (CGT), is hosting a series of televised debates among the parties on different issues. You can watch Tetum streaming videos of some of them on Facebook:

Nine more debates are scheduled between 20 April and 9 May -- see the schedule at right.

TVE, hamutuk ho La'o Hamutuk no Core Group on Transparency (CGT), fo sai debate balu iha televiziaun ho partidu sira kona-ba asuntu oi-oin. Bele hare balun liu 'streaming' iha Facebook:

TVE sei organiza debate sia tan -- hare orariu iha liman karuk.

Results

Timorese voters cast 635,116 valid votes on a very peaceful and democratic election day. This table shows the complete, official results of the election. Although Fretilin appealed the result to the Court of Appeals, in the end they accepted the court's rejection of their petition.

PEP, PR, MSD and MDN all did not receive enough votes to be allocated any seats in parliament.

AMP will get 34 seats, which gives them an absolute majority in Parliament. However, Fretilin will be still be a strong opposition with 1/3rd of seats on their own. According to Article 88.3 of the Constitution, Fretilin’s 23 seats are enough to prevent overriding a presidential veto on major legislation, which could help to prevent consolidation of power.

Rezultadu

Timoroan sira hato’o votu válidu totál 635,116 iha eleisaun ne’ebé la’o ho dame no demokrátiku iha loron votasaun.  Informasaun iha tabela ne’e mak rezultadu kompletu no ofisiál. Maske Fretilin halo rekursu ba Tribunal Rekursu kona-ba rezultadu, ikus liu sira simu rezultadu hafoin Tribunal rejeita sira nia petisaun.

PEP, PR, MSD no MDN sira hotu la hetan votu nato’on atu hetan kadeira iha parlamentu.

AMP sei hetan kadeira 34, ne’ebé fó ba sira maioria absoluta. Maibé Fretilin sei nafatin opozisaun ne’ebé forte ho 1/3 kadeira ne’ebé sira hetan. Bazeia ba Konstituisaun artigu 88.3. Kadeira 23 husi Fretilin nato’on atu asegura Prezidente nia veto kona ba lei importante ruma, ne’ebé sei ajuda hodi prevene podér ne’ebé konsólidu.

Here you can see a list of who was elected from AMP, and from the other three parties, based on the candidate lists parties presented to CNE.

Iha-ne’e ita bele haree lista sé-sé mak hetan eleitu husi AMP, no mós husi partidu tolu seluk, bazeia ba lista kandidatura sira ne’ebé partidu sira aprezenta ba CNE.

If everyone who has been elected decides to take their seat, the new Parliament will include 22 women and 43 men. This number will likely change as party members choose not to take their seat and are replaced. According to article 14.3 of Law no. 6/2006, of 28 December (Lei Eleitorál Para o Parlamento National), if a woman declines her seat for any reason, her seat can only be filled by the next female candidate on the list. This article ensures that women hold at least 33% of seats in Parliament regardless of individuals declining their seats. Conversely, a man who declines his seat will be replaced by the next candidate, regardless of their gender. Therefore, because many people on party slates will decline to take their seats to instead become ministers in the new government, it is likely that the new Parliament will include more than 22 women (as happened after the 2017 parliamentary elections).

Seats are allocated using the d’Hondt method, which is described below and in this more detailed explanation.

Se hotu-hotu husi lista ne’e simu ninia kadeira, Parlamentu foun sei kompostu husi feto na’in-22 no mane na’in-43. Númeru ida ne’e iha posibilidade bele muda bainhira reprezentante partidu sira deside hodi troka no la simu sira nia kadeira. Bazeia ba artigu 14.3 husi Lei Eleitorál Parlamentu Nasional No. 6/2006, 28 Dezembru nian, bainhira feto ida la foti nia kadeira bazeia ba razaun saida de’it nia kadeira so bele troka fali ho reprezentante feto iha lista de’it. Lei ida ne’e hodi asegura katak feto sira kaer nafatin mínimu 33% kadeira iha Parlamentu. Bainhira kandidatu mane mak la foti nia kadeira, kandidatu ne’e sei troka kandidatu se de’it, la depende ba jéneru. Nune’e, tanba ema barak ne’ebé iha lista partidu sira sei la foti sira-nia kadeira hodi bele sai Ministru ka foti papél seluk iha governu foun, La’o Hamutuk espekta katak alokasaun kadeira iha parlamentu sei inklui feto barak liu 22 (hanesan esperiénsia hafoin eleisaun parlamentár 2017).

Alokasaun fahe kadeira utiliza métodu d’Hondt, hanesan deskreve iha kraik no iha esplikasaun kle'an liu.

D’Hondt Method

Article 13 of Law no. 6/2006 – the Electoral Law for National Parliament – states that Timor-Leste shall use the d’Hondt method to allocate parliamentary seats. This system is an internationally used method of allocating seats proportionally to a party or coalition’s share of votes.

As described in Article 13 of the law as amended, parties or coalitions which get fewer than 4% of the total valid votes cast do not get any seats in Parliament. The process for allocating seats is as follows:

  1. The total number of valid votes received by each party or coalition is tabulated;
  2. The number of valid votes counted for each party or coalition is divided, successively, by 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc., and the results are sorted in descending order, forming a series with as many terms as the number of seats in parliament;
  3. Seats are then attributed to the party or coalition corresponding to the terms of the series…

This method is shown in this CNE/STAE video.

In Timor-Leste, parties or coalitions with fewer than 4% of the total valid votes cast do not get any seats in Parliament. Four parties received fewer votes than the cut-off and therefore did not get any seats.

La’o Hamutuk has written a more detailed explanation of the logic behind the d’Hondt method. We have made a brief video to accompany the explanation, which you can watch streaming or download (15 MB).

Métodu D’Hondt

Artigu 13 iha Lei No. 6/2006 - Lei Eleitorál Para o Parlamento Nacional - hatete katak Timor-Leste sei uza métodu d’Hondt hodi aloka kadeira iha parlamentu. Sistema ida-ne’e maka métodu ne’ebé uza iha rai oioin hodi aloka kadeira tuir proporsaun kada partidu ka koligasaun nia votu.

Hanesan deskreve iha Artigu 13 husi lei ida-ne’e, partidu ka koligasaun sira ne’ebé la atinje kritéria 4% husi totál votu la hetan kadeira ida iha Parlamentu. Prosesu hodi aloka kadeira hanesan tuirmai ne’e:

  1. Sura númeru totál husi votu válidu sira ne’ebé hetan husi kada partidu ka koligasaun;
  2. Númeru votus válidus husi kada lista sei fahe fali, susesivamente, por ida, rua, tolu, haat, lima, no rezultadu sira aliñadus ho orden tun husi nia grandeza hodi halo série ida ho termus barak hanesan ho númeru kadeira iha parlamentu;
  3. Kadeira sira sei aloka ba partidu ka koligasaun ne’ebé maka korresponde termus de série ne’ebé estabelese ona…

Video ne’e husi CNE/STAE uza métodu hanesan ne’e.

Iha Timor-Leste, partidu ka koligasaun ne’ebé simu menus 4% husi totál votu válidu la hetan kadeira ida iha Parlamentu. Iha partidu ka koligasaun 4 ne’ebé la pasa bareira (4%) nudár kritéria mínimu entaun sira la hetan kadeira ida.

La’o Hamutuk hakerek esplikasaun kle'an liu tan kona-ba métodu d’Hondt, ne’ebé ita boot bele download iha ne’e. Ami mós halo video badak ne’ebé ita bele hare streaming ka download (15 MB).

Comparison with 2017

The chart below shows the changes in the percentage of votes received by each party (including the 4 parties who received less than the 4% threshold to be eligible for a seat in parliament). Fretilin has the largest percentage increase of votes, but AMP received the largest increase in absolute number of votes (Fretilin received 44,844 more votes and AMP received 45,673). The percentage vote for every other party dropped slightly.

Komparasaun ho 2017

Tabela iha okos hatudu mudansa persentajen de votu ne’ebé kada partidu sira hetan (inklui mós partidu polítiku 4 ne’ebé labele liu bareira 4% nudár kritéria mínimu hodi hetan kadeira iha parlamentu). Fretilin hetan persentajen aumenta votu ne’ebé aas liu, maibé AMP hetan númeru votu ne’ebé aas liu (Fretilin simu tan votu 44,844 no AMP simu tan votu 45,673). Partidu sira seluk hetan persentajen votus menus ho númeru ki’ik.

 
More voters turned out for the 2018 Parliamentary elections than either the 2017 Parliamentary elections or 2017 Presidential elections.

In the 2017 Presidential and Parliamentary elections, 71.2% and 76.7% of registered voters turned out to vote respectively. In the 2018 Parliamentary elections 81% of registered voters turned out to vote. This trend was reflected in overseas voting as well, which was four times higher in 2018 than 2017. This is a promising trend, because it shows that Timorese people are more engaged in the political process, making it more democratic and representative. Another significant change is the 5% increase in the number of valid votes, due to fewer blank and null ballots.

There are a few factors that La’o Hamutuk believes may have influenced this result. Firstly, all parties campaigned harder during the 2018 election season than they did in 2017. Additionally, nearly 10 months of a government with limited budget and powers, after Parliament rejected the government program, created higher stakes for the Timorese people; the conflict between political parties and eventual dissolving of Parliament created uncertainty and concerns for many. Lastly, the Council of Ministers approved Decree No. 4/2018, amending Government Decrees No. 19/2017 and 21/2017, to allow some voters, especially students, to change their place of registration from where they were originally registered. This amendment especially affects voters in Dili who often come from other municipalities and had been forced to travel far to vote in previous elections.

La'o Hamutuk submitted our Election Observation Report (Tetum) to CNE and STAE.

On 25 June, La'o Hamutuk wrote an open letter (Tetum) to every member of the incoming Parliament.

Go here for more information about the formation and program of the new Government.

Iha númeru votante (sira ne’ebé sai duni ba vota) aas liu iha Eleisaun Parlamentár tinan 2018 kompara ho tinan 2017 nian, no mós aas liu kompara ho Eleisaun Prezidensiál 2017 nian.

Iha eleisaun Parlamentár no Prezidensiál 2017, númeru eleitor sira hamutuk 76.7% no 71.2% ne’ebé rejistu fó duni sira-nia votu. Ba eleisaun parlamentár 2018 númeru 81% ne’ebé rejistu fó duni sira-nia votu. Trend ida-ne’e refleta mós iha votus husi rai li’ur, ne’ebé aumenta dala haat boot liu iha 2018 kompara ho 2017. Ida-ne’e mudansa ka trend ida-ne’ebé di’ak tanba hatudu katak ema Timoroan barak liu mak envolve iha polítika hodi halo prosesu ida-ne’e sai reprezentativu no demokrátiku liu. Mudansa seluk ne’ebé signifikante mak númeru votu válidu, ne’ebé aumenta 5% razaun ne’e tanba votus mamuk no nulu menus liu iha eleisaun ida ne’e.

Iha fatór balu ne’ebé kontribui ba rezultadu ida-ne’e, tuir La’o Hamutuk nia haree. Primeiru, partidu polítiku sira hotu halo kampaña maka’as tebes durante periodu eleisaun 2018 kompara ho ida-ne’ebé sira halo iha 2017. Aleinde ne’e, besik fulan 10, governu la’o ho orsamentu no kbiit limitadu tanba Parlamentu rejeita programa governu. Situasaun ida-ne’e, konflitu entre partidu polítiku sira to’o parlamentu dissolve fó inserteza no todan ba Timoroan barak. Hafoin ida ne’e Konsellu Ministru aprova Dekretu No. 4/2018 atu halo mudansa ba Dekretu Governu No 19/2017 no 21/2017 ne’ebé fó posibilidade ba eleitor sira ruma, liuliu estudante sira, atu bele vota iha fatin ne’ebé dook husi sira nia hela fatin. Mudansa ida ne’e partikulármente eleitor sira iha Dili ne’ebé dala ruma mai husi munisipiu sira seluk lei ne’e obriga sira atu halo viajen dook no mós fó sira nia votu iha eleisaun anterior.

La'o Hamutuk fahe ami nia Relatóriu Observasaun Eleisaun Antesipada Parlamentár ba CNE no STAE.

Iha loron 25 Junu, LH haruka Karta aberta ba kada Deputadu/a iha Parlamentu foun.

Klik iha ne'e atu hetan informasaun tan kona-ba kriasaun no programa Governu foun.

Information about the electoral process

Informasaun kona-ba prosesu eleisaun

Commentary Komentáriu

Relevant documents

Dokumentu relevante sira

 

The Timor-Leste Institute for Development Monitoring and Analysis (La’o Hamutuk)
Institutu Timor-Leste ba Analiza no Monitor ba Dezenvolvimentu
Rua D. Alberto Ricardo, Bebora, Dili, Timor-Leste
P.O. Box 340, Dili, Timor-Leste
Tel: +670-3321040 or +670-77234330
email: 
laohamutuk@gmail.com    Web: http://www.laohamutuk.org    Blog: laohamutuk.blogspot.com