Politics of East Timor explained

The political system in East Timor is 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 functions as 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, with lesser power given to the president. The country is still in the process of building its administration and governmental institutions.

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, the president is able to veto legislation, however this action can be overridden by the parliament. Following elections, the president usually appoints the leader of the majority party or majority coalition as the prime minister,. As head of government the prime minister presides over the cabinet.

|President|José Ramos-Horta|CNRT|20 May 2022|-|Prime Minister|Xanana Gusmão|CNRT|1 July 2023|}

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, with the exception of the first parliament, which included 88 members who previously served as the Constitutional Assembly six years rather than five (2001-2007). The longer term was in part due to the constitustion being put in place in 2002.^[4]

The East Timorese constitution was modelled after that of Portugal.^[5] The country is still in the process of building its administration and governmental institutions.

Political parties and elections

See main article: List of political parties in East Timor and Elections in East Timor.

Presidential elections

See main article: 2017 East Timorese presidential election.

Parliamentary elections

See main article: 2018 East Timorese parliamentary election.

Recent developments

Francisco Guterres, known as Lú-Olo, of the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (Fretilin) was elected president in 2017 and held the position until May 2022.^[6] The Alliance for Change and Progress (AMP), a three-party alliance, attempted to form a coalition with National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction, led by former president Xanana Gusmao, but the talks failed and Fretilin formed a minority government with the Timorese Democratic Party (DP) in September 2017. In October that year, the three opposition parties formed an alliance called Parliamentary Majority Oppositional Alliance (AOMP), and following pressures from this opposition alliance, president Guterres decided to dissolve the parliament in January 2018. This led to the second general election in May 2018.^[7] In June 2018, former president Jose Maria de Vasconcelos known as Taur Matan Ruak of the Alliance of Change for Progress (AMP), became the new prime minister.^[8] José Ramos-Horta of the centre-left CNRT has served as the president of East Timor since 20 May 2022 after winning the April 2022 presidential election runoff.^[9]

In parliamentary elections held on Sunday, May 21, 2023, the opposition party led by Xanana Gusmao won 41% of the vote, making him likely to return as prime minister of the country in a coalition with at least one other party.^[10]

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.^[11]

Administrative divisions

See main article: Municipalities of East Timor. East Timor is divided into thirteen municipalities:

The districts are subdivided into 65 subdistricts, 443 sucos and 2,336 towns, villages and hamlets. Web site: Ministerial Order . https://web.archive.org/web/20050110165024/http://www.unmiset.org/legal/RDTL-Law/RDTL-Minist-Orders/Decree-Order-2003-6.pdf . 10 Jan 2005.  

Cabinet

Gusmão III (2023–present)

See main article: IX Constitutional Government of East Timor. Official Gazette of Announced Council of Ministers

Matan Ruak (2018–2023)^[12]

See main article: VIII Constitutional Government of East Timor.

Minister	Name
Prime Minister Minister of the Interior	Taur Matan Ruak
Deputy Prime Minister Minister of Social Solidarity and Inclusion	Armanda Berta dos Santos
Deputy Prime Minister Minister of Planning and Territory	Jose Reis
Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers	Fidelis Leite Magalhães
Coordinating Minister of Economic Affairs	Joaquim Amaral
Minister for Legislative Reform and Parliamentary Affairs	Francisco Martins da Costa Pereira Jerónimo
Minister of Finance	Fernando Hanjam
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation	Adaljiza Magno
Minister of Justice	Manuel Cárceres da Costa
Minister of State Administration	Miguel Pereira de Carvalho
Minister of Health	Odete Maria Belo
Minister of Education, Youth and Sports	Armindo Maia
Minister of Higher Education, Science and Culture	Longuinhos dos Santos
Minister for the Affairs of National Liberation Combatants	Júlio Sarmento da Costa "Meta Mali"
Minister of Public Works	Salvador Soares dos Reis Pires
Minister of Transport and Communications	José Agustinho da Silva
Minister of Tourism, Trade and Industry	José Lucas do Carmo da Silva
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries	Pedro dos Reis
Minister of Defense	Filomeno da Paixão de Jesus
Minister of Petroleum and Mineral	Víctor da Conceição Soares
Ministra Finansas
Ministru Saúde	Maria do Céu Sarmento Pina da Costa
Ministru Komérsiu, Indústria no Ambiente	António da Conceição
Ministru Turizmu, Arte no Kultura	Francisco Kalbuadi Lay
Ministru Defeza	Cirilio José Cristóvão
Ministru Interiór	Longuinhos Monteiro
Ministru Planeamentu no Investimentu Estratéjiku	Xanana Gusmão-->

Alkatiri II (2017–2018) ^[13]

See main article: VII Constitutional Government of East Timor.

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)^[14]

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
Minister of Education	Fernando La Sama de Araújo
Vice-Minister of Education I
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
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)^[15]

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
Vice-Minister for Management, Support and Resources	Maria do Céu Sarmento
Minister of Education	Bendito Freitas
Vice-Minister of Basic/Primary Education
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
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)^[16]

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
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 I (2002-2007)^[17]

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

Further reading

• Book: Berlie . Jean A . East Timor's Independence, Indonesia and ASEAN . 2018 . Palgrave Macmillan . London . 9783319626291.
• Book: Beuman . Lydia . Political Institutions in East Timor: Semi-Presidentialism and Democratisation . Routledge Contemporary Southeast Asia Series . 2016 . Routledge . Abingdon, Oxon . 9781138950337 . 19 December 2021 . 27 March 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230327131329/https://books.google.com/books?id=8GCFCwAAQBAJ . live .
• Book: Devereux . Annemarie . Timor-Leste's Bill of Rights: A Preliminary History . 28 May 2015 . ANU Press . 9781925022391 . 3 July 2022 . 3 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220703080838/https://books.google.com/books?id=mDzSCgAAQBAJ . live .
• Book: Hicks . David . Rhetoric and the Decolonization and Recolonization of East Timor . 15 September 2014 . Routledge . 978-1-317-69534-9 .
• Book: Ingram . Sue . Kent . Lia . McWilliam . Andrew . A New Era?: Timor-Leste after the UN . State, Society and Governance in Melanesia series . 2015 . . Acton, ACT . 9781925022513 . j.ctt183q3gn.
• Book: Leach . Michael . Kingsbury . Damien . Damien Kingsbury . The Politics of Timor-Leste: Democratic Consolidation After Intervention . Studies on Southeast Asia, no. 59 . 2013 . Cornell University, Southeast Asia Program Publications . Ithaca, NY . 9780877277897 . 30 November 2020 . 10 December 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201210150206/https://dro.deakin.edu.au/eserv/DU:30051213/leach-politicstimorleste-2013.pdf . live .
• Book: Nixon . Rod . Justice and Governance in East Timor: Indigenous Approaches and the 'New Subsistence State' . Routledge Contemporary Southeast Asia Series . 2011 . Routledge . London; New York . 9781912483594.
• Web site: Novak . Parker . Timor-Leste's uncertain future . . 2023-12-29 . en . 2023-11-29.
• Book: Strating . Rebecca . Social Democracy in East Timor . Routledge Contemporary Southeast Asia Series . 2016 . Routledge . London; New York . 9781138885325.

External links

• • Web site: Law and Justice in Timor-Leste: A Survey of Citizen Awareness and Attitudes Regarding Law and Justice . The Asia Foundation . 2008.

Notes and References

1. Shoesmith . Dennis . March–April 2003 . Timor-Leste: Divided Leadership in a Semi-Presidential System . . 43 . 2 . 231–252 . Berkeley . . 0004-4687 . 905451085 . 10.1525/as.2003.43.2.231 . 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 4 December 2002, Dili riots are explained in the context of this political struggle. . 7 September 2020 . 14 April 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210414231057/http://espace.cdu.edu.au/view/cdu:1248 . live .
2. Neto . Octávio Amorim . Lobo . Marina Costa . 2010 . Between Constitutional Diffusion and Local Politics: Semi-Presidentialism in Portuguese-Speaking Countries . APSA 2010 Annual Meeting Paper . . 1644026 . 25 August 2017 . 26 March 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190326203830/https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID1666842_code1512429.pdf . live .
3. Book: Beuman, Lydia M. . 2016 . Political Institutions in East Timor: Semi-Presidentialism and Democratisation . Abingdon, Oxon . . 978-1317362128 . 2015036590 . 983148216 . 18 August 2017 . Google Books . 27 March 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230327131329/https://books.google.com/books?id=8GCFCwAAQBAJ . live .
4. Web site: May 17, 2022 . Timor-Leste passes bill to protect constitution . UCA News.
5. Web site: Timor-Leste (formerly East Timor) . US department of state.
6. News: East Timor profile - Timeline. BBC News. 26 February 2018. 30 May 2021. 31 May 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210531005105/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-14952883. live.
7. Web site: East Timor votes in second general election in 10 months. 30 May 2021. 2 June 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210602212255/https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/East-Timor-votes-in-second-general-election-in-10-months. live.
8. News: New East Timor PM pledges to bring unity after political deadlock. Reuters. 22 June 2018. Cruz. Nelson de la. 30 May 2021. 2 June 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210602213114/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-timor-politics-idUSKBN1JI1JO. live.
9. News: Agence France-Presse . Timor-Leste presidential election: José Ramos-Horta wins in landslide . the Guardian . 20 April 2022 . en . 20 July 2022 . 21 April 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220421074707/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/21/timor-leste-presidential-election-jose-ramos-horta-wins-in-landslide . live .
10. Web site: 2023-05-23 . East Timor's opposition party wins most seats in parliamentary election . 2023-07-11 . AP News . en.
11. Web site: Setór Justisa Planu Estratéjiku ba Timor-Leste 2011-2030. 2010. Republica Democratica de Timor-Leste. 27 December 2017. 12 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190412102655/http://www.mj.gov.tl/files/JSSP_TETUM.pdf. live.
12. Web site: Ruak . 11 July 2018 . 9 December 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221209090901/http://timor-leste.gov.tl/?p=13&lang=en . live .
13. Web site: Alkatiri II . 17 September 2017 . 17 September 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170917080045/http://timor-leste.gov.tl/?p=18782&lang=en&n=1 . live .
14. http://timor-leste.gov.tl/?p=11219&lang=en
15. http://timor-leste.gov.tl/?p=11254&lang=en
16. http://timor-leste.gov.tl/?p=7526&lang=en
17. http://timor-leste.gov.tl/?p=11254&lang=en