Politics of East Timor
 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (May 2012) |
 | You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in German. (February 2015) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
 |
|---|
| Constitution |
|
|
.svg){kind=small} Asia portal |
Politics of East Timor takes place in a framework of a unitary semi-presidential representative democratic republic,[1][2][3] whereby the Prime Minister of East Timor is the head of government and the President of East Timor exercises the functions of head of state. East Timor has a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the president and the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Parliament. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The East Timorese constitution was modelled on that of Portugal, though the president is less powerful than the Portuguese counterpart.[2] The country is still in the process of building its administration and governmental institutions. The Economist Intelligence Unit rated East Timor a "flawed democracy" in 2019.[4][needs update]
Executive branch
The head of state of the East Timorese republic is the President, who is directly elected by popular vote for a five-year term, and whose executive powers are somewhat limited by the constitution, though this official is able to veto legislation, which action can be overridden by the parliament. Following elections, the president usually appoints as the prime minister, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition. As head of government the prime minister presides over the cabinet.
| Office | Name | Party | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| President | Francisco Guterres | FRETILIN | 20 May 2017 |
| Prime Minister | Taur Matan Ruak | PLP | 22 June 2018 |
Legislative branch
The unicameral Timorese National Parliament (Parlamento Nacional) has 65 members elected by proportional representation (d'Hondt method) for a five-year term. The number of seats can vary from a minimum of 52 to a maximum of 65, though it exceptionally had 88 members during its first term which also exceptionally lasted six years – from 2001 to 2007 – this was because the constitution provided that the 88-member Constitutional Assembly would become the first parliament after the constitution entered into force in 2002.
The East Timorese constitution was modelled on that of Portugal. The country is still in the process of building its administration and governmental institutions.
Political parties and elections
Presidential elections
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Francisco Guterres | Fretilin | 295,048 | 57.08 | |
| António da Conceição | Democratic Party | 167,794 | 32.46 | |
| José Luís Guterres | Frenti-Mudança | 13,513 | 2.61 | |
| José Neves | Independent | 11,663 | 2.26 | |
| Luís Alves Tilman | Independent | 11,125 | 2.15 | |
| Antonio Maher Lopes | Socialist Party of Timor | 9,102 | 1.76 | |
| Ángela Freitas | Timorese Labor Party | 4,353 | 0.84 | |
| Amorim Vieira | Independent | 4,283 | 0.83 | |
| Total | 516,881 | 100.00 | ||
| Valid votes | 516,881 | 97.74 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 11,932 | 2.26 | ||
| Total votes | 528,813 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 743,150 | 71.16 | ||
| Source: CNE | ||||
Parliamentary elections
 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
| Alliance for Change and Progress (CNRT–PLP–KHUNTO) | 309,663 | 49.58 | 34 | –1 | |
| Fretilin | 213,324 | 34.16 | 23 | 0 | |
| Democratic Party | 50,370 | 8.07 | 5 | –2 | |
| Democratic Development Forum (PUDD–UDT–FM–PDN) | 34,301 | 5.49 | 3 | +3 | |
| Hope of the Fatherland Party | 5,060 | 0.81 | 0 | 0 | |
| National Development Movement (APMT–PLPA–MLPM–UNDERTIM) | 4,494 | 0.72 | 0 | 0 | |
| Republican Party | 4,125 | 0.66 | 0 | 0 | |
| Social Democratic Movement (CASDT–PSD–PST–PDC) | 3,188 | 0.51 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 624,525 | 100.00 | 65 | 0 | |
| Valid votes | 624,525 | 98.33 | |||
| Invalid/blank votes | 10,591 | 1.67 | |||
| Total votes | 635,116 | 100.00 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 784,286 | 80.98 | |||
| Source: CNE | |||||
Judicial branch
The Supreme Court of Justice has one judge appointed by the National Parliament and the rest appointed by the Superior Council for the Judiciary. As mentioned in a 2010 source, the country was in the process of developing a legal system that includes private practice attorneys.[5]
Administrative divisions
 | This article needs to be updated. (September 2019) |
East Timor is divided into thirteen administrative districts:
Column-generating template families
The templates listed here are not interchangeable. For example, using {{col-float}} with {{col-end}} instead of {{col-float-end}} would leave a <div>...</div> open, potentially harming any subsequent formatting.
| Type | Family | Handles wiki
table code?† |
Responsive/ mobile suited |
Start template | Column divider | End template |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Float | "col-float" | Yes | Yes | {{col-float}} | {{col-float-break}} | {{col-float-end}} |
| "columns-start" | Yes | Yes | {{columns-start}} | {{column}} | {{columns-end}} | |
| Columns | "div col" | Yes | Yes | {{div col}} | – | {{div col end}} |
| "columns-list" | No | Yes | {{columns-list}} (wraps div col) | – | – | |
| Flexbox | "flex columns" | No | Yes | {{flex columns}} | – | – |
| Table | "col" | Yes | No | {{col-begin}}, {{col-begin-fixed}} or {{col-begin-small}} |
{{col-break}} or {{col-2}} .. {{col-5}} |
{{col-end}} |
† Can template handle the basic wiki markup {| | || |- |} used to create tables? If not, special templates that produce these elements (such as {{(!}}, {{!}}, {{!!}}, {{!-}}, {{!)}})—or HTML tags (<table>...</table>, <tr>...</tr>, etc.)—need to be used instead.
The districts are subdivided into 65 subdistricts, 443 sucos and 2,336 towns, villages and hamlets. "[5]". {{cite web}}: External link in |title=|url= (help)[6] (213 KiB)
Cabinet
- Matan Ruak (2018-present) [6]
| Minister | Name |
|---|---|
| Prime Minister | Taur Matan Ruak |
| Minister of State Consellor Prime Minister | Xanana Gusmão |
| Minister of State and of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers | Hermenegildo Ágio Pereira |
| Minister for Legislative Reform and Parliamentary Affairs | Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhaes |
| Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation | Dionisio da Costa Babo Soares |
| Minister of Justice | Manuel Carceres da Costa |
| Minister of Education, Youth and Sports | Dulce Soares |
| Minister of Higher Education, Science and Culture | Longuinhos dos Santos |
| Minister of Social Solidarity and Inclusion | Armanda Berta dos Santos |
| Minister of Public Works | Salvador Soares dos Reis Pires |
| Minister of Transport and Communications | Jose Agostinho da Silva |
| Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries | Joaquim Jose Gusmao dos Reis Martins |
| Minister of Petroleum and Mineral | Alfredo Pires |
- Alkatiri II (2017–2018) [7]
| Minister | Name |
|---|---|
| Prime Minister | Mari Alkatiri |
| Minister of Development and Institutional Reform | |
| Minister of State | José Ramos-Horta |
| Rui Maria de Araújo | |
| Estanislau da Silva | |
| Mariano Assanami Sabino | |
| Deputy Minister of the Prime Minister | Hermenegildo Augusto Cabral Pereira |
| José Maria dos Reis | |
| Counselor for National Security | José Ramos-Horta |
| Presidency of the Council of Ministers | Adriano do Nascimento |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation | Aurélio Guterres |
| Minister of Defence and Security | José Agostinho Sequeira ("Somotxo") |
| Minister of Interior | |
| Minister of Planning and Finance | Rui Gomes |
| Deputy Minister of Housing, Planning and Environment | Abrão Gabriel Santos Oliveira |
| Minister of Justice | |
| Deputy Minister of Justice | Sebastião Dias Ximenes |
| Minister of Health | Rui Maria de Araújo |
| Deputy Minister of Health | Luís Maria Ribeiro Freitas Lobato |
| Minister of Education and Culture | Fernando Hanjam |
| Vice Minister of Education and Culture | Lurdes Bessa |
| Deputy Minister of Education and Culture | José António de Jesus das Neves |
| Minister of State Administration | Valentim Ximenes |
| Deputy Minister of State Administration | José Anuno |
| Minister of Commerce, Industry and Environment | António Conceição |
| Deputy Minister of Commerce and Industry | Jacinto Gusmão |
| Minister of Social Solidarity | Florentina da Conceição Pereira Martins Smith |
| Minister of Public Works, Transport and Communications | |
| Deputy Minister of Public Works | Mariano Renato Monteiro da Cruz |
| Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications | Inácio Freitas Moreira |
| Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries | Estanislau da Silva |
| Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries | Cipriano Esteves Doutel Ferreira |
| Minister of Tourism and Art | |
| Minister of Petroleum | Hernani Filomena Coelho da Silva |
| Minister of Mineral Resources | Mariano Assanami Sabino |
- Araújo (2015–2017)[8]
| Minister | Name |
|---|---|
| Prime Minister | Rui Maria de Araújo |
| Minister of State | Hermenegildo Ágio Pereira |
| Fernando La Sama de Araújo (Coordinating Minister of Social) | |
| Estanislau da Conceição Aleixo Maria da Silva (Coordinating Minister of Economy) | |
| Dionísio da Costa Babo Soares (Coordinating Minister of State Administration Affairs and Justice) | |
| Presidency of the Council of Ministers | Hermenegildo Ágio Pereira |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation | Hernâni Coelho |
| Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation | Roberto Sarmento de Oliveira Soares |
| Minister of Defence | Cirilio José Cristóvão |
| Vice-Minister of Defence | N/A |
| Minister of Interior | Longuinhos Monteiro |
| Vice-Minister of Interior | N/A |
| Minister of Finance | Santina Cardoso |
| Vice-Minister of Finance | Hélder Lopes |
| Minister of Justice | Ivo Jorge Valente |
| Vice-Minister of Justice | N/A |
| Minister of Health | Maria do Céu Sarmento |
| Vice-Minister for Health | Ana Isabel Soares |
| Minister of Education | Fernando La Sama de Araújo |
| Vice-Minister of Education I | Dulce Soares |
| Vice-Minister of Education II | Abel da Costa Freitas Ximenes |
| Minister of State Administration | Dionísio da Costa Babo Soares |
| Vice-Minister of State Administration | Tomás do Rosário Cabral |
| Minister of Commerce, Industry and Environment | António da Conceição |
| Vice-Minister of Commerce, Industry and Environment | Constâncio da Conceição Pinto |
| Minister of Social Solidarity | Isabel Amaral Guterres |
| Vice-Minister of Social Solidarity | Miguel Marques Gonçalves Manetelu |
| Minister of Public Works, Transport and Communications | Gastão Francisco de Sousa |
| Vice-Minister of Public Works, Transport and Communications I | Januário da Costa Pereira |
| Vice-Minister of Public Works, Transport and Communications II | Inácio Moreira |
| Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries | Estanislau da Conceição Aleixo Maria da Silva |
| Vice-Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries | Marcos da Cruz |
| Minister of Tourism, Art and Culture | Francisco Kalbuadi Lay |
| Vice-Minister of Tourism, Art and Culture | N/A |
| Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources | Alfredo Pires |
| Vice-Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources | N/A |
| Minister of Planning and Strategic Investment | Xanana Gusmão |
| Vice-Minister of Planning and Strategic Investment | N/A |
- Gusmão II (2012-2015)[9]
| Minister | Name |
|---|---|
| Prime Minister | Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão |
| Vice Prime Minister | Fernando La Sama de Araújo |
| Minister of State | Agio Pereira |
| José Luís Guterres | |
| Presidency of the Council of Ministers | Agio Pereira |
| Minister of Coordinator of Social Affairs | Fernando La Sama de Araújo |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation | José Luís Guterres |
| Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation | Constâncio da Conceição Pinto |
| Minister of Defence and Security | Xanana Gusmão |
| Vice-Minister of Defence and Security | N/A |
| Minister of Finance | Emília Pires |
| Vice-Minister of Finance | Santina Cardoso |
| Minister of Justice | Dionísio Babo Soares |
| Vice-Minister of Justice | Ivo Jorge Valente |
| Minister of Health | Sérgio Lobo |
| Vice-Minister for Ethnics and Service Delivery | Natália de Araújo |
| Vice-Minister for Management, Support and Resources | Maria do Céu Sarmento |
| Minister of Education | Bendito Freitas |
| Vice-Minister of Basic/Primary Education | Dulce Soares |
| Vice-Minister of Secondary Education | Virgílio Simith |
| Vice-Minister of Higher Education | Marçal Avelino Ximenes |
| Minister of State Administration | Jorge Teme |
| Vice-Minister of State Administration | N/A |
| Minister of Commerce, Industry and Environment | António da Conceição |
| Vice-Minister of Commerce, Industry and Environment | Abel da Costa Ximenes |
| Minister of Social Solidarity | Isabel Amaral Guterres |
| Vice-Minister of Social Solidarity | Jacinto Rigoberto de Deus |
| Minister of Public Works | Gastão Francisco de Sousa |
| Vice-Minister of Public Works | N/A |
| Minister of Transport and Communications | Pedro Lay |
| Vice-Minister of Transport and Communications | Flávio Cardoso Neves |
| Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries | Mariano Assanami Sabino |
| Vice-Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries | Marcos da Cruz |
| Minister of Tourism | Francisco Kalbuadi Lay |
| Vice-Minister of Tourism | N/A |
| Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources | Alfredo Pires |
| Vice-Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources | N/A |
- Gusmão I (2007-2012)[10]
| Minister | Name |
|---|---|
| Prime Minister | Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão |
| Vice Prime Minister | José Luís Guterres (Social Affairs) |
| ? (Management and State Administration) | |
| Minister of Defence and Security | Xanana Gusmão |
| Vice-Minister of Defence and Security | N/A |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation | Zacarias da Costa |
| Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation | N/A |
| Minister of Finance | Emília Pires |
| Vice-Minister of Finance | Rui Manuel Hajam |
| Minister of Justice | Lúcia Lobato |
| Vice-Minister of Justice | N/A |
| Minister of Health | Nelson Martins |
| Vice-Minister of Health | Madalena Hanjam |
| Minister of Education | João Câncio Freitas |
| Vice-Minister of Education | Paulo Assis Belo |
| Minister of Internal Administration | Arcângelo Leite |
| Vice-Minister of Internal Administration | N/A |
| Minister of Economy and Development | João Gonçalves |
| Vice-Minister of Economy and Development | Cristiano da Costa |
| Minister of Social Solidarity | Maria Domingas Alves |
| Vice-Minister of Social Solidarity | N/A |
| Minister of Public Works | Gastão Francisco de Sousa |
| Vice-Minister of Public Works | N/A |
| Minister of Infrastructure | Pedro Lay |
| Vice-Minister of Infrastructure | José Manuel Carrascalão |
| Minister of Transport, Communications and Public Works | Ovidio D. J. Amaral |
| Vice-Minister of Transport, Communications and Public Works | N/A |
| Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries | Mariano Assanami Sabino |
| Vice-Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries | N/A |
| Minister of Tourism, Commerce and Industry | Gil Alves |
| Vice-Minister of Tourism, Commerce and Industry | N/A |
- Alkatiri (2002-2007)[11]
| Minister | Name |
|---|---|
| Prime Minister | Marí Bim Amude Alkatiri |
| Vice Prime Minister | N/A |
| Minister of State | Anna Pessoa Pinto |
| Jose Ramos Horta | |
| Vice-Minister of State | Olimpio Branco |
| Presidency of the Council of Ministers | Anna Pessoa Pinto |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation | Jose Ramos Horta |
| Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation | Olimpio Branco |
| Minister of Internal Affairs | Rogerio Tiago Lobato |
| Vice-Minister of Internal Affairs | Alcino Baris |
| Minister of Planning and Finance | Maria M. B. Boavida |
| Vice-Minister of Planning and Finance | Aicha Bassarewan |
| Minister of Justice | Domingos Maria Sarmento |
| Vice-Minister of Justice | Manuel Abrantes |
| Minister of Health | Rui Maria de Araujo |
| Vice-Minister of Health | Luis Maria Lobato |
| Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports | Armindo Maia |
| Vice-Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports | Rosaria Corte-Real |
| Minister of Internal Administration | Anna Pessoa Pinto |
| Vice-Minister of Internal Administration | Ilda M. da Conceicao |
| Minister of Development and Environment | ? |
| Vice-Minister of Development and Environment | Abel Da C. F. Ximenes |
| Minister of Transport, Communications and Public Works | Ovidio D. J. Amaral |
| Vice-Minister of Transport, Communications and Public Works | Arq Cesar V. Moreira |
| Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries | Estanislau A. da Silva |
| Vice-Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries | F. De Sa Benevides |
External links
References
- ^ Shoesmith, Dennis (March–April 2003). "Timor-Leste: Divided Leadership in a Semi-Presidential System". Asian Survey. 43 (2). Berkeley: University of California Press: 231–252. doi:10.1525/as.2003.43.2.231. ISSN 0004-4687. OCLC 905451085.
The semi-presidential system in the new state of Timor-Leste has institutionalized a political struggle between the president, Xanana Gusmão, and the prime minister, Mari Alkatiri. This has polarized political alliances and threatens the viability of the new state. This paper explains the ideological divisions and the history of rivalry between these two key political actors. The adoption of Marxism by Fretilin in 1977 led to Gusmão's repudiation of the party in the 1980s and his decision to remove Falintil, the guerrilla movement, from Fretilin control. The power struggle between the two leaders is then examined in the transition to independence. This includes an account of the politicization of the defense and police forces and attempts by Minister of Internal Administration Rogério Lobato to use disaffected Falintil veterans as a counterforce to the Gusmão loyalists in the army. The December 4, 2002, Dili riots are explained in the context of this political struggle.
{{cite journal}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - ^ a b Neto, Octávio Amorim; Lobo, Marina Costa (2010). "Between Constitutional Diffusion and Local Politics: Semi-Presidentialism in Portuguese-Speaking Countries" (PDF). APSA 2010 Annual Meeting Paper. Social Science Research Network. SSRN 1644026. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
{{cite journal}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - ^ Beuman, Lydia M. (2016). Political Institutions in East Timor: Semi-Presidentialism and Democratisation. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. ISBN 978-1317362128. LCCN 2015036590. OCLC 983148216. Retrieved 18 August 2017 – via Google Books.
- ^ Democracy Index 2023: Age of Conflict (PDF). Economist Intelligence Unit (Report). 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 June 2024. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
- ^ "Setór Justisa Planu Estratéjiku ba Timor-Leste 2011-2030" (PDF). Republica Democratica de Timor-Leste. 2010.
- ^ Ruak
- ^ Alkatiri II
- ^ [1] Araújo
- ^ [2] Gusmão II
- ^ [3] Gusmão I
- ^ [4] Alkatiri
Further reading
- Berlie, Jean A, ed. (2018). East Timor's Independence, Indonesia and ASEAN. London: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9783319626291.
- Leach, Michael; Kingsbury, Damien, eds. (2013). The Politics of Timor-Leste: Democratic Consolidation After Intervention. Studies on Southeast Asia, no. 59. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, Southeast Asia Program Publications. ISBN 9780877277897.
- Nixon, Rod (2011). Justice and Governance in East Timor: Indigenous Approaches and the 'New Subsistence State'. Routledge Contemporary Southeast Asia Series. London; New York: Routledge. ISBN 9781912483594.
- Strating, Rebecca (2016). Social Democracy in East Timor. Routledge Contemporary Southeast Asia Series. London; New York: Routledge. ISBN 9781138885325.
| History |  | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geography | |||||
| Politics | |||||
| Economy | |||||
| Society |
| ||||
