DILI, 12 july 2022 (TATOLI) – The National Elections Commission (CNE) pledged to implement a list of recommendations proposed by the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU-EOM) to improve future elections in Timor-Leste.
The President of CNE, Jose Belo made the comments after receiving those recommendations presented by the Chief of EU-EOM, Domènec Ruiz Devesa at CNE’s Hall, in Dili, today.
On thursday, the delegation of the EU-EOM released its report on Timor-Leste’s 2022 Presidential, which included five important recommendations to be considered for the improvement of future elections.
Of the 16 recommendations, five were considered to be priorities in the final report of the European Union Election Observation Mission to Timor-Leste 2022:
1) Consolidate all electoral legislation into a consistent and unified Electoral Code, with accompanying electoral regulations, available in Portuguese and Tetun.
2) Undertake legal reform, including the introduction of regulations, early enough in the electoral cycle to provide stakeholders time to understand and prepare for the new rules.
3) Consult the National Elections Commission (CNE) consistently and systematically when preparing the regulatory framework for the elections.
4) Strengthen campaign finance oversight by giving the CNE a clear competency in this field and empower this body to take a more assertive and proactive role.
5) Review the campaign finance rules and reporting requirements to strengthen equality, transparency, and accountability in the electoral process.
Belo said those recommendations were important to be considered by the National Parliament, the Government, and Electoral Bodies to improve future elections.
“We considered those recommendations important to improve our future elections. For instance, we have planned to introduce braille ballot papers to facilitate people with vision impairment,” Belo said.
The tactile ballot templates will allow people with sight loss to vote in secret.
He said Timor-Leste should also introduce biometric voter registration to prevent electoral fraud: “This technology will facilitate to increase the participation of Timorese people residing overseas in the upcoming election.”
At the same place, Domènec Ruiz Devesa said Timor-Leste has established parallel voting which is a good thing, adding further improvement is needed to make it simple and more practical.
“Increasing support for the community media in covering the election campaign is also needed,” he said.
Devesa added there will be three elections in 2023, saying, therefore, those recommendations are important for Timor-Leste to have a better preparation: “The upcoming elections included Parliamentary, Municipal and Suku Elections. These elections require a lot of early planning and preparation by CNE and STAE. Thus, I think, some of the recommendations will certainly help Timor-Leste to prepare well for next year’s elections.”
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Nelia Borges
