Each political party elects its leaders and representatives;

The people vote for a party, not a personality;

The Parliament is made up of 74 members and 14 district representatives;

The percentage of votes a party receives in the general election determines the
    number of members it has in the Parliament;

For the district representation it goes on a "first party past the post" basis;

Once elected a party announces its ministerial cabinet;

The cabinet must gain a majority of votes in Parliament to enact its platform, laws and rules;

The FRETILIN Party won the election in August 2001 with a majority of 54% against 14 other parties.

In 2005 FRETILIN won the local elections (sucos) by 65%. The next general election is in 2007 and FRETILIN is confident it will gain government again.

The election for the presidency is separate and is very much a personality contest. The presidency is mainly symbolic — the President selects the judiciary and diplomats from government recommendations and is the commander-in-chief of the army.

About FRETILIN

FRETILIN has always been a party of the broad Left. Initially some of its members were communists. Most of them were hunted down and killed by the Indonesians due to their convictions.

FRETILIN is the only political party which has a structure supported by the grassroots and enough educated personnel to lead East Timor into the future. It has a strong bond with the people in the villages since it sent its educated members as volunteers to teach literacy, agriculture and health through hygiene throughout the country in 1974-75 and thereafter as fighters in the war of liberation. The FRETILIN Congress is made up of delegates elected at the village level. It elects its President, Secretariat and Central Committee.

The past

A rift developed between Xanana Gusmao, Jose Ramos Horta and FRETILIN not long after these two individuals left the party in 1987. FRETILIN had devised a front of Maubere liberation which separated the political (FRETILIN) from the fighters who eventually became known as the Falantil Forces with Xanana as their leader. This move was designed to undermine Indonesia’s explanations of the human rights abuses as fighting communism. In the 1990s Jose Ramos Horta denigrated publicly the sacrifice of the communist members of FRETILIN.

During the 24 years of fighting, the insurgency was directed solely by the FRETILIN Presidential Council which was made up of five leaders. Lu’olo being the last of these is now the Speaker of the East Timorese Parliament.

Mari Alkatiri (Prime Minister) together with Ana Passoa (Attorney General) spent their exile in Portugal where they studied Law and in Mozambique where they worked relentlessly for FRETILIN, they wrote its Constitution and a Magna Carta which was accepted by the UN.

Robert Peters
Friends of East Timor
Newcastle

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