National Parliament of Timor-Leste

The National Parliament (, ) is the unicameral national legislature in Timor-Leste. 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.

Structure The National Parliament has 65 members, elected every five years through party-list proportional representation voting. The three main components concerning parliament in Timor-Leste are the National Parliament, the prime minister, and the president.

President The president is elected in a separate election from the 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.

Prime minister 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.

Elections 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.

Current members The 5th National Parliament of Timor-Leste 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.

List of presidents of the National Parliament # Portrait Name Took office End office Party Notes 1 Francisco Guterres 20 May 2002 31 July 2007 Fretilin 2 Fernando de Araújo 8 August 2007 30 July 2012 Democratic Party 3 Vicente Guterres 30 July 2012 2016 CNRT 4 Adérito Hugo da Costa 2016 2017 CNRT 5 Aniceto Guterres Lopes 5 September 2017 2018 Fretilin 6 Arão Noé da Costa Amaral 5 April 2018 2020 CNRT (5) Aniceto Guterres Lopes 19 May 2020 22 June 2023 Fretilin 7 Maria Fernanda Lay 22 June 2023 Incumbent CNRT

Composition of the National Parliament since 2001

+Primary voteSeatsElectionCNRTFretilinDemocraticOth.CNRTFretilinDemocraticOth.Total2001–57.37%8.72%33.91%–5572688200724.10%29.02%11.30%35.58%182181865201236.66%29.87%10.31%23.16%30258265201729.46%29.66%9.79%31.09%222371365201849.58%As AMP, in alliance with PLP and KHUNTO.34.16%8.07%8.19%34235365202341.63%25.75%9.32%23.30%31196965

National Parliament of Timor-Leste

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