2001 East Timorese parliamentary election

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2001 East Timorese parliamentary election
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  1999 30 August 2001 2007  

All 88 seats in the Constituent Assembly
Turnout86.03%
PartyLeader%Seats
Fretilin Mari Alkatiri 57.3755
Democratic Fernando de Araújo 8.727
PSD Mário Viegas Carrascalão 8.186
ASDT Francisco Xavier do Amaral 7.846
UDT João Viegas Carrascalão 2.362
PNT Aliança de Araújo 2.212
KOTA Leão Pedro dos Reis Amaral 2.132
PPT Jacob Xavier 2.012
PDC António Ximenes 1.982
PST Pedro dos Mártires da Costa 1.781
Liberal Armando da Silva 1.101
UDC Vicente Guterres 0.661
Independents António da Costa Lelan 1.471
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
2001 East Timorese parliamentary election - Results by municipality.svg
Most voted-for party by district and results by constituency
Prime Minister-designate
Mari Alkatiri
Fretilin

Constituent Assembly elections were held in East Timor on 30 August 2001, the second anniversary of the independence referendum. One member was elected from each of the country's thirteen districts, whilst a further 75 were elected by proportional representation. [1] The result was a victory for Fretilin, which won 55 of the 88 seats. Voter turnout was 93%. [2] Following the election the Constituent Assembly nominated a transitional Council of Ministers with Mari Alkatiri as Chief Minister. [3]

Contents

Background

The elections were held to elect 88 members of a constituent assembly (the precursor of the National Parliament), which would be in charge of drafting the first constitution of the Asian country. These were the first free and fair elections to take place on Timorese territory in its entire history after the end of the Portuguese colonial period and the occupation by Indonesia (1975-1999). The elections were managed by the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) to begin the second phase of the transition to full independence, after most of the Timorese infrastructure was destroyed by pro-Indonesian militias following the August 1999 independence referendum.

Of the 88 seats in the Constituent Assembly, 13 would be elected by uninominal majority vote in representation of the thirteen districts that make up the country, while the remaining 75 would be elected by proportional representation by lists. Seventeen parties presented lists for the election. [4]

Results

Timor Leste Assemblee constituante 2001.svg
PartyVotes%Seats
Fretilin 208,53157.3755
Democratic Party 31,6808.727
Social Democratic Party 29,7268.186
Timorese Social Democratic Association 28,4957.846
Timorese Democratic Union 8,5812.362
Timorese Nationalist Party 8,0352.212
Association of Timorese Heroes 7,7352.132
People's Party of Timor 7,3222.012
Christian Democratic Party 7,1811.982
Socialist Party of Timor 6,4831.781
Liberal Party 4,0131.101
Christian Democratic Union of Timor 2,4130.661
Timorese Popular Democratic Association 2,1810.600
Timorese Labor Party 2,0260.560
National Republic Party of East Timor  [ de ]1,9700.540
Maubere Democratic Party  [ de ]1,7880.490
Independents5,3411.471
Total363,501100.0088
Valid votes363,50194.60
Invalid/blank votes20,7475.40
Total votes384,248100.00
Registered voters/turnout446,66686.03
Source: Ying, Elections Today, IDEA

Aftermath

The Constituent Assembly was installed and invested a local autonomous government on 20 September led by a Council of Ministers, the first elected government in the country's history. Fretilin's Secretary General, Mari Alkatiri, took over as President of the Council of Ministers in coalition with the PD, with a two-thirds majority. On 20 May 2002 the United Nations protectorate came to an end and the territory became independent as the Democratic Republic of East Timor. The Constituent Assembly was reconstituted as the National Parliament, and the government of Alkatiri (who changed his position to Prime Minister) became the first constitutional government. [1] [3]

The Assembly had the mandate of preparing a constitution. It had to be approved by at least 60 of the 88 members within 90 days of the Assembly's first sitting. [1] The new constitution was promulgated in March 2002, [5] and following independence on 20 May, served as its first Parliament. Presidential elections were held in April 2002 in which Xanana Gusmão was victorious.

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 On the election of a Constituent Assembly to prepare a constitution for an independent and democratic East Timor United Nations
  2. Timor-Leste: Elections held in 2001 Inter-Parliamentary Union
  3. 1 2 On the establishment of the Council of Ministers United Nations
  4. Azul 2, Malai (17 August 2006). "Timor Online - Em directo de Timor-Leste: Resultados das eleições de 2001". Timor Online - Em directo de Timor-Leste. Retrieved 17 December 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. Constitution of East Timor Government of East Timor

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