April 6th 2017
Mahien nia Lian report 121, “Monitoring Report on the 2017 Presidential Elections”, will critically analyse electoral security provision during the 2017 Presidential Election and the activities of political candidates and their supporters. The Presidential Election conducted on March 20 2017 was the first election organized by the Timorese people, with the previous elections in 2012, 2007, 2002 and 2001, organised and supported by the United Nations (UN) and other International organizations. It was also notable in that Timorese citizens living in Australia and Portugal were also able to vote remotely. However, Timorese citizens studying in Indonesia and working in South Korea have been critical of their inability to participate in the elections.
That the election was conducted safely and securely was of great importance to Timorese society, especially when compared to security incidents that occurred during the 2007 and 2012 elections. The 2017 Presidential election proved somewhat different from the concerns and perceptions that were raised by civil society over safety and security preceding the election. It has proven that the Timorese people have developed more maturity around the democratic process, and are able to engage in safe and positive behavior during elections to elect the new president for the period of 2017 – 2020.
However, Fundasaun Mahein’s (FM) monitoring noted that during the electoral process, several incidents did occur from the start of the campaigning period through to voting. The first incident occured during the first day of the campaigning period, and took place in Dili on March 3 2017 between supporters of the Presidential candidates, with other incidents occurring in the municipalities during the electoral process.
Therefore, this report includes the monitoring observations of Fundasaun Mahein (FM) during the election process, starting from the campaigning period through to voting day. Finally, this report will provide recommendations for the Government, National Parliament and electoral organs.
For more details on this issue, please contact:
Nélson Belo
Executive Director of FM
Phone: +670 78316075 or 7756 1184
Email: direktor.mahein@gmail.com
Website: www.fundasaunmahein.org
