DILI, 27 may 2023 (TATOLI) – The National Commission for Election (CNE) has concluded the national tabulation of the parliamentary election.
During the three days of verification, the CNE verified a total of 515 claimed votes, consisting of 158 null votes, one rejected vote, five blank votes, and 351 valid votes.
After the verification, of the 351 valid votes, 191 votes were attributed to the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT), 96 to the Revolutionary Front for an Independent Timor-Leste (FRETILIN), 26 to the Democratic Party (PD), 13 to the People’s Liberation Party (PLP) 9 to Kmanek Haburas Unidade Nasional Timor Oan (KHUNTO), 8 to the Unity Party for Democratic Development (PUDD), 6 to the Green Party and one each to the Timorese National Resistance Democratic Unity Party (UNDERTIM) and the Timorese Social Democratic Action Centre Party (CASDTL).
According to the CNE’s provisional tabulation of national results, with all electoral minutes verified, the CNRT of charismatic leader Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão won 41.65% of the vote – a 16-point lead over the ruling FRETILIN party of former Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri who secured 25.69%. Meanwhile, the PLP of current Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak received only 5.90% of the vote and KHUNTO got 7.52% of the vote.
The provisional tabulation of national results showed a significant increase in CNRT seats from 21 to 31, allowing Gusmão’s CNRT to form a coalition. On the other hand, both FRETILIN and PLP lost four seats each, with FRETILIN down from its current 23 seats to 19, and the PLP down from its current eight seats to four, with the exception of KHUNTO, which is the only party in the current government to retain its five seats.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Party (PD), one of the opposition parties that has expressed interest in forming a coalition with Gusmão’s CNRT, won 9.32 percent of the vote, securing six seats, up from five seats in the 2017 parliamentary elections.
Despite having many supporters, the Green Party, and the Unity Party for Democratic Development (PUDD) received only 3.62 percent and 3.13 percent of the votes respectively, making both parties fail to pass the electoral threshold of 4% to secure any seats. Besides, the other small parties received only less than one percent of the votes.
Of the 14 municipalities, CNRT dominated in 10 municipalities, winning the most votes, except for the three eastern municipalities won by FRETILIN. In addition, CNRT also won in all overseas polling centers, including Australia, Korea, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Portugal.
CNE will have 72 hours (may 27th to 30th) to prepare the minutes of the provisional national tabulation of results and posts them at its headquarters
The deadline to appeal the provisional national results to the Court of Appeal Panel will take place between may 29th and june 1st.
The result of the national tabulation would be officially announced by the Court of Appeal and published in the Official Gazette of the President of the Republic, on june 7.
Elections are held every five years using a party-list proportional representation voting system to elect 65 members to the National Parliament. Voting is voluntary for all Timorese citizens over the age of 17.
Related News:https://en.tatoli.tl/2023/05/24/cne-kicks-off-national-tabulation-of-parliamentary-elections/11/
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Nelia Borges
