Parliamentary elections were held in Timor-Leste on 7 July 2012.Election Profile IFES The United Nations stated that it would withdraw its 1,300 troops if the elections passed off peacefully. The National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction, led by Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão, won the election with 30 seats, three seats short of a majority in National Parliament.

Background

After the severe unrest of 2006, the Australian-led International Stabilisation Force (ISF) and the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) had restored peace and order in the country. An assassination attempt on February 11, 2008, against President José Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão resulted in the death of rebel leader Alfredo Reinado. The rebel movement subsequently collapsed. Those of its members who had been convicted of involvement in the assassination were pardoned by President Ramos-Horta in 2010. In March 2011, the Timor-Leste National Police (PNTL) resumed full responsibility for security in the country. ISF and UNMIT plan to leave in 2012 after presidential and parliamentary elections have been held.

The country had largely stabilized, but there were sporadic clashes between various , during which houses were also burned down, most recently in Comoro and in 2011 in Zumalai and Luro. In addition, the veterans' organization CPD-RDTL caused unrest through ongoing protests. The local elections on October 9, 2009, passed off without major incidents.

Fretilin, the country's largest party, was in opposition to the five-party government coalition Aliança da Maioria Parlamentar (AMP), which included the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT), Democratic Party (PD), Timorese Social Democratic Association (ASDT), Social Democratic Party (PSD) and UNDERTIM. Because Fretilin, the largest parliamentary group, did not participate in the government, it accused the government of unconstitutionality throughout the legislative period. In addition, several members of the government were suspected of corruption, but this could not be confirmed in any case. On June 8, however, Justice Minister Lúcia Lobato (PSD) was sentenced to five years in prison for mismanagement of funds.

Several parties had to cope with splits and internal factional struggles. The reform wing of Fretilin, led by Deputy Prime Minister José Luís Guterres, split off as Frenti-Mudança. There were internal power struggles in KOTA, UNDERTIM was internally divided, and a deputy from the National Unity Party (PUN) resigned and now sat in Parliament as an independent deputy. The ASDT deputies fell out with their base. While the party signed a declaration of alliance with Fretilin, ASDT parliamentarians threatened that they would continue to work with Prime Minister Gusmão if the party left the governing coalition. The previous ASDT president Francisco Xavier do Amaral had health problems and saw his office threatened by Tourism Minister Gil da Costa Alves, who was elected executive president in August 2011. However, his election was reversed by Timor-Leste's Supreme Court. On March 5, 2012, Amaral succumbed to cancer in Dili. The dispute continued to simmer between the faction around Alves, who is close to the coalition partner CNRT, and the former Amaral supporters around João Correia, whose faction supported José Ramos-Horta in the March 17, 2012 presidential election and wants to make him honorary chairman of the ASDT.Michael Leach: Timor-Leste: the parliamentary campaign begins, Inside Story, 8 June 2012, retrieved on 18 December 2022.

There was a dispute in the PD over the formation of the government. MPs from the western part of the country (Loro Munu) felt that regional proportional representation was not guaranteed and that PD politicians from the east (Loro Sae) were favoured in the formation of the cabinet. The dispute was settled with the appointment of Adriano do Nascimento as Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. In exchange, the western-born PD MP Lucas da Costa stood in the 2012 presidential elections, in which his eastern-born party leader Fernando de Araújo also contested. Araújo eventually came fourth with 17.30%, while Costa received only 0.83% of the vote. Both were thus eliminated in the first round of the presidential elections, as was the incumbent President Ramos-Horta with 17.48%.CNE: Rezultadu definitivo primeira eleisaun presidencial, 26 March 2012 After the presidential election, Ramos-Horta, who, unlike the previous time, had not received the support of the CNRT in the elections, announced that he would work with the PD in the parliamentary elections. Later, he also pledged his support to the ASDT. If the votes of La Sama and Ramos-Horta in the presidential elections were added together, one could expect a 35% share of the vote in the general elections for the PD, which would make it the strongest force in the new parliament, ahead of Fretilin and CNRT. However, this was not certain, as La Sama had also received more votes in the last elections than his party would later. It was also unclear whether the PD would again form a coalition with the CNRT or, in contrast to its previous negative stance, with Fretilin. In the case of a coalition government with PD participation, there was speculation about a Prime Minister position for Ramos-Horta. However, Ramos-Horta ruled out taking up any political office at the end of the election campaign. His political career was over, he declared.Independente: Horta: my political career in TL is finished, 4 July 2012.

According to the Constitution of Timor-Leste, even if coalition negotiations failed, a minority government under the strongest party would be possible if the president entrusted it with forming a government. But experts warn that in this case critics of the parliamentary system could intervene in the military.[Damien Kingsbury: Is East Timor's democratic consolidation a crocodile smile?, The Age, 6 July 2012], Retrieved on 20 December 2022

Xanana Gusmão and leading members of the PSD have been at loggerheads in recent years, with party leader Zacarias da Costa even threatening to resign as foreign minister by text message in 2010. Gusmão, for his part, insulted the Foreign Minister at a televised meeting of the Council of Ministers, exposing him. (PDF; 1,4 MB) Analysts could therefore also imagine an alliance between the PSD and Fretilin after the election. Frenti-Mudança was expected to form a coalition with the CNRT if necessary. Another potential coalition partner of the CNRT could be the new National Development Party (PDN), whose party leader Fernando Dias Gusmão comes from the PSD. The former PSD secretary-general had lost the 2008 election to party leader Zacarias da Costa and subsequently founded the PDN.

Electoral system

Each of the 645,624 eligible voters has one vote, which they can give to a party list. People are eligible to vote from the age of 17. Several parties can also run as a coalition with a joint list. A three-percent hurdle applies, which would mean about 18,000 votes in a 100% turnout. The election is held with closed lists. According to the share of the total votes, parties and coalitions receive seats in parliament, which are filled according to the order on the electoral list. Only registered parties and electoral alliances may draw up lists of candidates, but persons on the list need not belong to the party, which meant that independent candidates could also enter parliament. A total of 90 people must be on a party list, and the final 25 candidates are replacements for any retiring deputies. (PDF; 812 kB) and (Portuguese; PDF; 173 kB), Retrieved on 18 December 2022.

Registered parties receive state financial support from the National Electoral Commission (CNE) based on the proportion of seats won by the party in the national parliament. In 2011, for the first time, the total amount of funding for all parties in parliament was three million U.S. dollars, up from one million U.S. dollars annually. Parties that are not represented in parliament but are registered for the 2012 parliamentary elections will receive $30,000 from the CNE, and party coalitions will receive $45,000. (english)

All 65 members of the National Parliament were elected from a single nationwide constituency by party-list proportional representation voting. A party had to cross the electoral threshold of 3% to enter parliament and seats were distributed according to the d'Hondt method. Parties were required to submit lists with 65 candidates and at least 25 replacements. According to the electoral law, every fourth member on a party's list has to be a woman.

The ballots were printed in Kupang, Indonesia, in West Timor and brought to Timor-Leste by land. The reception at the border was greatly celebrated.STAE on Facebook: Entrega Boletins de Voto na fronteira com Indonesia, 26 June 2012, retrieved at 18 December 2022. Voting took place in 880 polling stations and 640 polling centers. The polling stations were open between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m.

The European Union sent 70 election observers and analysts to Timor-Leste.[EU Election Observation: EU Election Observation Mission to Timor-Leste 2012], retrieved 4 July 2012. Five parliamentarians are coming from New Zealand as observers., retrieved 4 July 2012. These include representatives from other countries and many non-governmental organizations. A total of 586 foreign and 2,618 national election observers were registered. In addition, there were 106 foreign and 112 local journalists.

Parties and candidates

On 12 May, the CNE drew lots for the order of parties and candidate lists on the ballot paper. The nationalist, pro-Indonesian Timorese Nationalist Party (PNT) and the traditional monarchist People's Party of Timor (PPT) did not submit their lists of candidates to the authorities by the deadline on 11 May and were therefore not admitted to the election. Even the major parties Fretilin, CNRT and PD and five other parties submitted their list only on the last day.Radio e Televizaun de Timor-Leste: CNE will not receive candidate list from political parties, 14. Mei 2012. The PSD placed Lúcia Lobato second on its list before her conviction, which brought the party public criticism from its former leader Mário Viegas Carrascalão. The latter did not stand for re-election due to his state of health.

The internal division of the ASDT led to the party even submitting two electoral lists to the CNE. One by Tourism Minister Alves and one by João Correia. The Timor-Leste Supreme Court of Justice, Timor-Leste's Court of Appeal, ruled that only Correira's list met the required regularity of clearance by a party congress. As a result, none of the previous ASDT MP's and government members are on the list.ASDT electoral list (in Tetum), Retrieved at 20 December 2012.

The dispute was more complicated in the UNDERTIM, from which two electoral lists were also submitted by different party wings.Radio Timor-Leste: Court legalizes UNDERTIM's candidates list, 28 May 2012. The CNE again set an ultimatum, but the groups around party leader Cornelio Gama and General Secretary Reis Kadalak could not agree on a common list, which led to the exclusion of UNDERTIM from the elections on 1 June. However, this was again withdrawn by the Court of Appeal on 4 June after the two UNDERTIM wings were able to agree on a common list. A prominent UNDERTIM candidate is Angelita Pires, former presidential candidate and lover of the dead rebel leader Alfredo Reinado.