DILI, 26 june 2023 (TATOLI) – The new 65 Members of Parliament have today elected the two vice presidents of the National Parliament, Maria Teresinha Viegas from the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT) and Alexandrino Afonso Nunes from the Democratic Party (PD).
Like the Speaker of the House, the two deputies are elected by the MPs at the start of a new parliament.
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The election for the two deputy speakers was chaired by the new house speaker, Maria Fernanda Lay at the National Parliament.
The National Parliament also elected the Secretary of National Parliament, Virginia Ana Belo from CNRT, and her two deputies, namely Maria Teresinha da Silva Gusmão from PD and Bendita Moniz Magno from CNRT.
Both deputies and secretaries were approved with 43 votes in favor, 20 abstentions, zero against, and two blank votes.
The 6th National Parliament of Timor-Leste currently consists of 65 members elected in the 21-may election, including 31 members from CNRT, 19 from the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (FRETILIN), six from PD, five from KHUNTO and four from People’s Liberation Party.
“My congratulations to you on assuming such heavy tasks. We will work together as a legal body of the State to serve the nation and the people,” House Speaker Lay said at the National Parliament, in Dili, today.
The majority of the positions in the composition of the new parliament are occupied by women, showing Timor-Leste’s seriousness in the fight for gender equality.
“This is another milestone for Timor-Leste, as the composition of the Parliament structure is occupied by women, but the most important thing is our productivity,” Lay said.
Last week, the new 65 MPs were sworn in, with MP Maria Fernanda Lay, from the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT), elected as the new president of the National Parliament.
The 65-seat chamber kicked off its first plenary session, today, in which Maria Fernanda Lay began exercising her new duties as house speaker for the period 2023 to 2028.
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Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Nelia Borges
