Eighteen political parties submit candidatures to contest May-21 election

DILI, 16 march 2023 (TATOLI) – The President of the Court of Appeal, Deolindo dos Santos revealed that 18 political parties have submitted their candidatures to contest the upcoming parliamentary elections, to be held on may 21, 2023.

“A total of 18 political parties have so far submitted their candidatures to the Court of Appeal,” Santos to reporters in Dili, on wednesday.

He said that most political parties presented only one candidature, except for the Frente Mundaça: “This party presented two candidatures and the decision would be made based on the verification of the Court of Appeal.”

Political parties’ application verification is scheduled to begin from march 16 to 25.

“We have 10 days for the Court of Appeal to verify the application of the political parties on the regularity of the files, the authenticity of the documents, the eligibility of the candidates, and to notify the candidates’ representatives if they need to fill out the required documents,” he said.

Santos said that verification requires rigorous efforts and time, saying, therefore, the Court of Appeal verification team would be overseen by four judges to ensure a fair and just decision for all political parties.

The 18 political parties are: