Local elections in East Timor 2016
In the local elections in East Timor in 2016 , between September 15 and October 22, 2016, for the third time since the country became independent, local representatives at the lowest administrative levels of East Timor will be elected by the population. The new elections after 2009 had been postponed again and again due to the long debates about administrative reform. It was only in July that the national parliament passed the new law on the structure of the sucover administration.
background
The smallest administrative unit of East Timor with a defined territory is called Suco . The suco can consist of districts or larger areas with several settlements. In 2015, several borders were redrawn, which also resulted in changes in the population of the affected sucos. The inhabitants of a sucos are divided into aldeias , which could be equated with “village communities”. Each household can determine the affiliation itself.
The Suco Council (Conselho de Suco) consists of the Chefe de Suco , the Chefes de Aldeia des Sucos, a female and a male delegate from each Aldeia, a female and a male youth representative and the Lian Nain (literally "Master of the Word" ).
The assembly of the Aldeia (Assembleias de Aldeia) is formed by all citizens of the village community over the age of 16 years.
The Chefes de Aldeia are elected freely and secretly in the assembly. The Chefe de Suco is also elected directly by the people every seven years. An incumbent can only stand for election once again.
Before the elections, 98% of the 442 Chefes de Suco and 2,225 Chefes de Aldeia were men. Therefore, the law stipulates that for the 2016 election, one candidate must be female for every Suco and Aldeia boss. The implementation was not completely successful, but in 2009, for example, there were only two female candidates in the 31 sucos in Aileu , in 2016 there were now 28. 30 more women were candidates in the Aldeias Aileus, and over 100 candidates across the country.
procedure
On September 15th, the previous Suco councils will meet to set up the polling stations and to accept the nominations for the new Chefe de Suco . On September 30th the assemblies of the Aldeias come together and elect their delegates for the Suco Council and the respective Chefe de Aldeia . In addition, the Chefe de Suco is elected. The newly elected Suco councils meet on October 1st. The result of the election of the Chefe de Suco will also be announced at the meeting. Should a second round be necessary for the election of the Chefe de Suco , the runoff election will take place on October 7th. The evaluation of the election results will take place on October 18th. On October 22nd, the Lian Nain and the youth representatives will be elected at the meeting of the previously elected Suco councils.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d SAPO: Setembro e outubro com eleições de líderes locais e tradicionais em Timor-Leste , September 2, 2016 , accessed on September 2, 2016.
- ↑ Lala Soares: With a new law in Timor-Leste, number of women in politics skyrockets , October 25, 2016, on Thomson Reuters Foundation News , accessed October 25, 2016.
