Timor - Elections 2017
Timor-Leste is a multiparty, parliamentary republic. Following free, fair, and peaceful parliamentary elections in July, Mari bin Amude Alkatiri became prime minister of a two-party coalition government. In a March presidential election, also judged as free and fair, voters elected Francisco Lu Olo Guterres. The government conducted free and fair presidential and parliamentary elections. In contrast with previous years, elections were conducted without extensive support from the international community.
Security forces maintained public order with no reported incidents of excessive use of force. Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the security forces. The most significant human rights issues included: extended pretrial detention, delayed trials and lack of due process; gender-based violence; and child abuse including sexual abuse. The government took some steps to prosecute members and officials of the security services who used excessive force, but public perceptions of impunity persisted according to security sector-focused NGOs.
The presidential and parliamentary elections took place during the year and were the first national elections administered without UN assistance. International observers assessed them as free and fair. Concerns about possible pre- and post-election violence proved unfounded; the process of forming a new government was peaceful and continued as of December 2017.
Following revisions to the local elections and the electoral management bodies laws, local elections were held in 2016. While there were several complaints about voting logistics, including incomplete voter registration lists and improper ballot provision, the elections were generally seen as free and fair.
On 20 March 2017, Timorese citizens voted to elect their next president. Eight candidates were vying for the presidency in this election. No candidate was expected to receive 50 percent plus one of the valid votes in the first round, so a second round would be held on April 20, 2017. The 2017 presidential election was the first national election to be managed by the National Election Commission and Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration without substantial logistical support from the United Nations.
Former guerrilla leader Francisco "Lu-Olo" Guterres had a commanding lead over the Democratic Party's Antonio da Conceicao, who is minister of education and social affairs. Lu-Olo, a 62-year-old former guerrilla commander representing Fretilin, the traditional party of resistance to Indonesian rule, had 60 percent of the votes. Da Conceicao had 30 percent and said he would accept the outcome. The remaining votes were divided among six other candidates. East Timor's president has a mostly ceremonial role.
On February 16, 2017, the Court of Appeal announced that all eight prospective candidates who had submitted applications for candidacy by the February 8, 2017 deadline had met all qualifications to contest the election, including having provided the names and signatures of 5,000 registered voters in support of their candidacy.
Two former arch-rival parties — FRETILIN and the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT) — supported a single candidate for president - FRETILIN resistance icon, Francisco Guterres (known as Lú-Olo). The sheer power of Xanana Gusmão's continuing influence is seen in his support of front-runner Lú-Olo for president. The emergence in 2016 of the new Popular Liberation Party (PLP), which espoused democratic slogans of “issue-based politics” and “accountability”, positioned as an opposition to the governing consensus politics. But the resistance leaders seem compelled to relentlessly serve the nation, delaying an inter-generational transition.
The country's Presdident, José Maria Vasconcelos, the former military chief known by the nom de guerre of Taur Matan Ruak, stood down to seek the more powerful prime minister's job when the country held legislative elections in July 2017. The country's economy relies heavily on oil and gas revenue. During the election campaign, the major parties focused on the diversification of the economy amid fears that money could run out within 10 to 15 years otherwise. The PLP promised a sustainable rural-based economy. Other electoral issues included education, job creation and anti-corruption measures.
The FRETILIN and the CNRT had been in a de facto power-sharing agreement since 2015 when the then Prime Minister Gusmão (CNRT) appointed Mr. Rui Araujo (FRETILIN) as his successor. Mr. Gusmão announced his resignation as CNRT President following the 2017 elections (a decision later suspended by CNRT) and declared that the party would go into opposition.
The Revolutionary Front for an independent East Timor (FRETILIN), led by President Francisco "Lu Olo" Guterres, won one more seat than the National Congress for the Reconstruction of Timor-Leste (CNRT), led by former President and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão. In addition to the Democratic Party, led by Mr. Mariano Sabino, two new parties entered the new parliament: the People's Liberation Party (PLP), led by the immediate ex-president José Maria de Vasconcelos (better known as Taur Matan Ruak), and the Kmanek Haburas Unidade Nasional Timor Oan (KHUNTO). KHUNTO, led by Mr. Jose dos Santos "Naimori" Bucar, reportedly garnered support from young voters.
The Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor, better known as Fretilin, won the election held in July 2017 by a narrow margin, forcing it to join with a smaller party to form a minority government. Fretilin tried to form a coalition with the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT), People's Liberation Party (PLP) and the Kmanek Haburas Unidade Nasional Timor Oan — known as Khunto — but all disagreed with Fretilin's approach to power sharing and declined.
After the July 2017 election, Fretilin formed a government with the support of the Democratic party. But another partner deserted the group at the last minute leaving it as a minority government that was unable to pass a vital economic program needed to prepare a budget bill through the opposition dominated parliament. The prime minister manuvered to ensure parliament did not sit, as required by law, avoiding a no confidence motion in the government that would have seen a resolution to the impasse months earlier. After lengthy negotiations, on 15 September, the FRETILIN formed a minority coalition government with the PD. Mr. Mari Alkatiri (FRETILIN), the country's first prime minister after independence from Indonesia in 2002, became the Prime Minister again.
Mari Alkatiri, leader of FRETILIN, held just 30 of the 65 parliamentary seats and its minority government soon fell, after the Parliamentary Majority Alliance opposition coalition declined to support Fretilin's program for government. The country had suffered a political impasse in subsequent months.
Since then the opposition Parliamentary Majority Alliance (AMP) comprising CNRT, PLP and Khunto, placed considerable political pressure on the Fretilin/PD coalition with the result being the decision for early elections. In January 2018, Timor Leste’s President Francisco Lu Olo dissolved parliament and called for new elections.
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