DILI, 17 january 2022 (TATOLI)– The Minister of State Administration (MoSA) revealed that new registration for overseas voters will be launched in February 2023.
Minister of State for Administration Miguel Pereira de Carvalho said the registration would be announced after the proposal for government regulation was introduced.
“The Minister of State Administration will introduce the government regulation proposal to council ministers in February. This requires council ministers to analyze and decide on an exact date for launching new voter registration activities abroad,” Minister of State for Administration, Miguel Pereira de Carvalho told reporters at STAE’s office, Caicoli, this Tuesday.
Carvalho said a team from the Technical Secretariat of Electoral Administration (STAE) would coordinate with the Timor-Leste consuls in Australia, Portugal, Britain, South Korea, and other countries the government had decided to carry out the election process.
However, for Timorese who are in Indonesia, he said, the government needs to establish the right policy for Timorese with temporary resident status in Indonesia to register for a new election to take part in the election process.
“The government through STAE must coordinate with the Indonesian Embassy so that there is an agreement to register new voters who are entitled to take part in the parliamentary election, but until now there has been no decision from the government regarding this matter,” he explained.
STAE together with the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs (MNEAC) visited Indonesia and the Philippines and conducted studies to strengthen the data collection process in both countries.
In previous years the government of Timor-Leste had conducted the electoral process in the two countries.
Mr. Carvalho said the MoSA would introduce this new voter registration proposal and include the two countries on the council of ministers. Decisions will be met at the end of February 2023.
STAE data shows that more than 7,800 overseas voters are eligible for the 2023 election.
Journalist: José Belarmino De Sá
Editor: Nelia B.
