| National Parliament | |
| Native Name: | |
| Legislature: | 6th National Parliament |
| House Type: | Unicameral |
| Foundation: | 20 May 2002 |
| Leader1 Type: | President |
| Party1: | (CNRT) |
| Election1: | 22 June 2023 |
| Leader2 Type: | Vice-Presidents |
| Leader2: | Maria Teresinha Viegas (CNRT) and AlexandrinoAfonso Nunes (PD) |
| Term Length: | 5 years |
| Members: | 65 MPs |
| Session Room: | National Parliament building, Dili, 2023 (01).jpg |
| Session Res: | 250px |
| Session Room2: | 2020-09-15 Parlamentu Nasionál abertura III Sesaun Lejislativa hosi V Lejislatura 4.jpg |
| Session Res2: | 250px |
| Structure1: | Parlamento nacional_2023.svg |
| Structure1 Res: | 250px |
| Political Groups1: | Government (37)
Opposition (28) |
| Background Color: |
|
| Coa Caption: | Emblem of the National Parliament |
| Voting System1: | Party-list proportional representation D'Hondt method Closed list |
| Last Election1: | 21 May 2023 |
| Next Election1: | 2028 |
The National Parliament (Tetum: Parlamentu Nasionál, Portuguese: Parlamento Nacional) is the unicameral national legislature in East Timor. It was created in 2001 as the Constituent Assembly while the country was still administered by the United Nations, but renamed itself to the National Parliament with the attaining of national independence on 20 May 2002.
National Parliament has 65 members, elected every five years through party-list proportional representation voting. The three main components of concerning parliament in East Timor are the National Parliament, the prime minister, and the president.
The president is elected in a separate election from National Parliament, and their role is the head of state. They are able to reject certain legislation, but their role is limited by the Constitution. The current president, as of 20 May 2022, is José Ramos-Horta.
The president appoints the prime minister, but it is expected that the president will select the leader chosen by the largest party/coalition. Essentially, if no one party is able to form a majority in its own right, then all the members of parliament subsequently elect the head of government. The prime minister carries out the function of the head of government. The current prime minister, as of June 2023, is Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão.
See main article: East Timorese parliamentary election, 2018. Elections are held every five years using a party-list proportional representation voting system to elect 65 members to the National Assembly. Voting is voluntary for all East Timorese citizens over the age of 17. There have been five elections for the parliament in East Timor: 2001, 2007, 2012, 2017, and 2018.
The 5th National Parliament of East Timor currently consists of 65 members elected in the 2018 election. 34 members are from Alliance for Change and Progress (CNRT–PLP–KHUNTO), 23 are from Fretilin, 5 are from the Democratic Party (PD), and 3 are from Democratic Development Forum (PUDD–UDT–FM–PDN). Each of these MPs will serve a 5-year term, which began in June 2018.[1]
| Portrait | Name | Took office | End office | Party | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 May 2002 | 31 July 2007 | [2] | ||||
| 2 | 8 August 2007 | 30 July 2012 | [3] | ||||
| 3 | 30 July 2012 | 2016 | |||||
| 4 | 2016 | 2017 | |||||
| 5 | 5 September 2017 | 2018 | |||||
| 6 | 5 April 2018 | 2020 | [4] | ||||
| (5) | 19 May 2020 | 22 June 2023 | |||||
| 7 | 22 June 2023 | Incumbent |
| Primary vote | Seats | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Election | CNRT | Fretilin | Democratic | Oth. | CNRT | Fretilin | Democratic | Oth. | Total | |
| 2001 | – | 57.37% | 8.72% | 33.91% | – | 55 | 7 | 26 | 88 | |
| 2007 | 24.10% | 29.02% | 11.30% | 35.58% | 18 | 21 | 8 | 18 | 65 | |
| 2012 | 36.66% | 29.87% | 10.31% | 23.16% | 30 | 25 | 8 | 2 | 65 | |
| 2017 | 29.46% | 29.66% | 9.79% | 31.09% | 22 | 23 | 7 | 13 | 65 | |
| 2018 | 49.58%[5] | 34.16% | 8.07% | 8.19% | 34 | 23 | 5 | 3 | 65 | |
| 2023 | 41.63% | 25.75% | 9.32% | 23.30% | 31 | 19 | 6 | 9 | 65 | |