DILI, may 20, 2021 (TATOLI) – The President of the Republic, Francisco Guterres Lú Olo, asked the Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration (STAE) and the National Election Commission (CNE) to start preparing for the presidential elections in 2022.
“I ask the Government’s Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration, the CNE and other relevant institutions, preparations for the next presidential elections begins as soon as possible”, Lú Olo said at a press conference, on the celebration of the 19th anniversary of the restoration of independence of Timor-Leste, at the Presidential Palace.
The president affirmed, that electoral participation must be guaranteed, despite the challenges posed by the covid-19.
“Next year, the presidential elections will take place. Due to the covid-19 pandemic, we faced several challenges in the preparation of free and fair elections”, he said.
It is recalled that on May 12, the Minister of State Administration (MAE), Miguel de Carvalho said that the Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration (STAE) was preparing for the elections.
Concerning the preparation for the election, Carvalho said, STAE has already registered 839,430 voters in Timor-Leste with 6,010 abroad.
According to Carvalho, between July 1 and January 2022, STAE will carry out the voter registration and update the electoral database to disclose, the voter lists in the polling centers before the presidential elections.
Otherwise, the President of the National Elections Commission (CNE), Alcino Baris, said, both the CNE and STAE had started the actions training for the voters on July 15 last year.
However, in early November, these activities were suspended due to the state of emergency as well as the subsequent imposition of the sanitary fence and mandatory confinement imposed by the Government.
“The CNE is still preparing for the presidential elections. We conducted training and disseminated information to employees. We also held a videoconference meeting, with international observers, including the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries [CPLP] ”, he said.
Journalist: Domingos Piedade Freitas
Editor: Zezito Silva
