DILI, 06 june 2023 (TATOLI) – The swearing-in ceremony for the new Members of Parliament will take place within 15 days after the announcement of the official results of the parliamentary election by the Court of Appeal on monday (05/06).
“President and I discuss the inauguration of the new parliament. So, the inauguration ceremony will be held within 15 days after the official announcement of the results of the election,” the President of the National Parliament, Aniceto Guterres Lopes made the comments after a meeting with the President of the Republic, Jose Ramos Horta at the Presidential Palace in Dili, today.
Sixty-five new MPs will take office within 15 days, including 31 from the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT), 19 from the Revolutionary Front for an Independent Timor-Leste (FRETILIN), six from the Democratic Party (PD), five from KHUNTO and four from the People’s Liberation Party (PLP).
Echoing Guterres’ statement, CNRT spokesperson Carmelita Caetano Moniz said it is better to hold the swearing-in ceremony of the new parliament earlier: “It could be on the second or third day, within the 15 days. I would suggest it sooner than later.”
According to the official announcement of the result of the parliamentary election of the Court of Appeal with all electoral minutes verified, the CNRT of charismatic leader Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão won 41.6% of the vote – a 16-point lead over the ruling FRETILIN party of former Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri that secured 25.8%. Meanwhile, the PLP of current Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak received only 5.9% of the vote and KHUNTO secured 7.5% of the vote.
The 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 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 government with Gusmão’s CNRT, won 9.3 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 3.6 percent and 3.1 percent of the votes respectively, making both parties fail to pass the electoral threshold of 4% to secure any seats. Besides, the other 11 political parties received only less than one percent of the votes.
Timor-Leste registered a high turnout in the 2023 parliamentary elections with 79.28% of the 890,145 registered voters.
Seventeen political parties contested the 21 May parliamentary elections, making Timor-Leste one of the most democratic nations in the Southeast Asian region.
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Nelia Borges
