DILI, 16 october 2023 (TATOLI) – The National Commission for Elections (CNE) through the Village Election Supervisor (VES) reported that the CNE has received a list of a total of 2,117 candidates who will contest the Village Head Elections to be held on 28 october.
Of the 2,117 candidates, only 11.38 per cent (241) are female, while the remaining 88.62 per cent (1,876) are male.
CNE Vice President Domingos Barreto said that each village had more than two candidates: “This shows that most villages require a second round for a candidate to get a majority victory.”
Barreto said that the presentation of the list of candidates for the Village Head Election will take place on 28 october: “Those who are interested in competing in the election have submitted their candidacies.”
He said: “This shows the development of democracy in the country, as many people are very enthusiastic to compete in the election.”
Since the announcement of the Village Chief Election earlier this year, the younger generation, especially those born in the 1980s and 1990s, have expressed interest in competing in the next Village Chief Election, which means that sooner or later the younger generation will take on the role of leader of their own villages and their country.
Last week, the Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration (STAE) said that it will soon recruit 2,675 temporary poll workers to support the upcoming Village Chief Election.
The Director General of STAE, Acilino Manuel Branco, said that the 28 October-Village Chief Election will be organized by the community leaders, saying STAE will only be responsible for distributing the ballot boxes, providing technical assistance, and supervising the electoral process.
He said that, unlike presidential and parliamentary elections, no electoral ink is required for the upcoming Village Chief Election: “Citizens will use electoral cards to vote in the elections.”
According to the latest data from STAE, 893,383 voters were registered, of whom 464,400 were men and 429,438 women.
Timor-Leste’s Village Chief Election is held every seven years. The last election was held on september 2016.
Journalist: Osoria Marques
Translator: Camilio de Sousa
Edeitors: Cancio Ximenes/Filomeno Martins
