DILI, 26 june 2023 (TATOLI) – Maria Fernanda Lay is the newly elected President of Timor-Leste’s National Parliament, following the outcome of the june 22 speaker election conducted at the National Parliament.
Maria Fernanda Lay, 68, a member of CNRT, is the first Timorese woman to be elected as the House Speaker with 45 votes in favor, 19 abstentions, one blank, and zero against.
Lay was born on november 10, 1954, in Baucau. She holds a bachelor’s degree from a telecommunications school in Bandung, Indonesia.
She has held several leadership positions in various specialized committees, most notably the Public Finance Committee, and as a project manager for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Lay joined CNRT soon after Timor-Leste’s charismatic leader, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão founded the party in march 2007. Later the same year, she gained a seat in the National Parliament.
In 2010, Lay begin serving as secretary of her national group at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries.
She was praised for successfully leading the Timor-Leste body’s Women’s Network from 2010 to 2015.
Lay was a member of the Audit and Supervisory Committee of CNRT and the Vice President of the World Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC).
Between 2014 and 2016, she was assigned a position in coordinating the multi-country South-South and Triangular Cooperation Programme for Consolidating Economic Governance and Public Finance Management Systems (PFMS) in the PALOP-TL (Pro PALOP-TL SAI – Phase II).
On june 22, Lay was officially announced as the first Timorese female House Speaker to lead the National Parliament for the period 2023-2028.
Lay was proposed as the sole candidate for the post of house speaker by the coalition parties – CNRT and PD.
Related News:https://en.tatoli.tl/2023/06/21/cnrt-and-dp-propose-maria-fernanda-lay-to-be-new-president-of-parliament/17/
In her speech at the inauguration ceremony, Lay said that despite being given a heavy task, she would work in collaboration with MPs to dignify the dreams of the Martyrs to ensure a good life for all Timorese.
Related News:https://en.tatoli.tl/2023/06/22/timor-leste-parliament-swore-in-mari-fernanda-lay-elected-as-house-speaker/14/
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Nelia Borges
