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Timor-Leste Updates

Timor-Leste votes confidently

amidst the pandemic

oters in
Timor-
V Leste went
to the polls on
March 19, 2022 to
choose a President
for a five-year term
commencing on May
20. This was the fifth
presidential election
since Indonesian rule
had come to an end
following a historic
vote for independence
on August 30, 1999. impassable. On the day before the election, when
Contested by 16 candidates, four of whom were sensitive materials including ballot papers were
women, it marked a further consolidation of being distributed to polling centers across the
the country’s reputation as one of the strongest country, community efforts were sometimes needed
electoral democracies in South East Asia. to get vehicles across rivers, extract them from mud,
In the decades since the independence or deploy porters to carry ballot boxes on their
vote, the scale of electoral operations in Timor- backs. This exemplified one of the great strengths
Leste has increased of Timorese elections:
considerably. The they are widely seen
number of registered At the independence vote, there were only 213 as an undertaking
voters has grown by polling centers; for the 2022 election, 1200 of the entire society,
over 90 percent. At were established. the success of which
the independence depends on all
vote, there were only stakeholders—not
213 polling centers; just the electoral
for the 2022 election, 1200 were established. The authorities—playing a constructive role.
electorate is notably young: almost 50 percent of This spirit was also on display on election day,
the registered voters are under 35 years of age. reflecting a pattern that is now well-established.
The timing of presidential elections is dictated Conflict at polling centers is very rare in Timor-
by a history going back to 2001, one effect of Leste; even when voters have to queue in the hot
which is that polling is held during the rainy sun, complaints are seldom heard. Voters show
season. This poses significant challenges for the every sign of valuing and respecting the democratic
Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration process, and appreciating the way in which they are
(STAE) and the constitutionally-mandated National empowered to make choices that will affect their
Elections Commission (CNE), as roads can become futures.

October 2022 | VoICE International | 75