East Timorese presidential election, 2017

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East Timorese presidential election, 2017

Flag of East Timor.svg


  2012 20 March 2017

  Francisco 'Lu Olo' Guterres 2012 infobox crop.jpg Antonio da Conceicao 2017 infobox crop.jpg
Candidate Francisco Guterres António da Conceição
Party FRETILIN Democratic Party
Popular vote 295,048 167,794
Percentage 57.1% 32.5%

2017 East Timorese presidential election map.svg


President before election

Taur Matan Ruak
Independent

Elected President

Francisco Guterres
FRETILIN

Coat of arms of East Timor.svg
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Timor-Leste
Constitution

Presidential elections were held in East Timor on 20 March 2017. Incumbent President Taur Matan Ruak, who was eligible for a second term, chose not to run for re-election. [1] The result was a victory for Francisco Guterres of FRETILIN. [2]

East Timor Country in Maritime Southeast Asia

East Timor or Timor-Leste, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Maritime Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island surrounded by Indonesian West Timor. Australia is the country's southern neighbour, separated by the Timor Sea. The country's size is about 15,410 km2.

Taur Matan Ruak Prime Minister of East Timor

José Maria VasconcelosGColIH, popularly known by his nom de guerreTaur Matan Ruak is an East Timorese politician who has served as the Prime Minister of East Timor since 22 June 2018. He was also President of East Timor from 20 May 2012 to 20 May 2017. Before entering politics, he was the Commander of the FALINTIL-Forças de Defesa de Timor-Leste (F-FDTL), the military of East Timor, from 2002 until 6 October 2011. Prior to serving in the F-FDTL, he was the last commander of the Armed Forces of National Liberation of East Timor or FALINTIL, the insurgent army which resisted the Indonesian occupation of the territory from 1975 to 1999.

Francisco Guterres East Timorese politician

Francisco Guterres, popularly known as Lú-Olo, is an East Timorese politician who has been President of East Timor since 2017. He is also the President of Fretilin, and he was President of the National Parliament of East Timor from 2002 to 2007. As the Fretilin candidate, he stood in the 2007 presidential election and 2012 presidential election, but was defeated in the second round by independent candidates on both occasions. He also contested the 2017 presidential election, and with the support of former Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão and his party, National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT), he was elected as President.

Contents

Electoral system

The President of East Timor is elected using the two-round system. [3] If it had been required, a second round would have been held on 20 April. [1]

President of East Timor Position

The President of East Timor – officially the President of the Democratic Republic of East Timor – is the head of state in East Timor, elected by popular vote for a five-year term. Their executive powers are somewhat limited, though he or she is able to veto legislation. Following elections, the president usually appoints as the prime minister, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition. As head of government the prime minister presides over the cabinet.

Two-round system voting system used to elect a single winner where a second round of voting is used if no candidate wins an absolute majority in the first round

The two-round system is a voting method used to elect a single winner, where the voter casts a single vote for their chosen candidate. However, if no candidate receives the required number of votes, then those candidates having less than a certain proportion of the votes, or all but the two candidates receiving the most votes, are eliminated, and a second round of voting is held.

Candidates

Democratic Party (East Timor) political party in East Timor

The Democratic Party or the Democratic Party in Timor-Leste is a centre-left political party in East Timor, established on 10 June, 2001. Currently, most of the members of the party are of the young generation who are studying abroad, and those who have completed their studies in Indonesia, Norway, Portugal, Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

José Luís Guterres East Timorese politician

José Luís Guterres is an East Timorese politician and diplomat.

Frenti-Mudança political party

Frente de Reconstrução Nacional de Timor-Leste - Mudança, commonly known as Frenti-Mudança, is a political party in East Timor led by Vice-Prime minister José Luís Guterres.

Results

CandidatePartyVotes%
Francisco Guterres FRETILIN 295,04857.1
António da Conceição Democratic Party 167,79432.5
José Luís Guterres Frenti-Mudança 13,5132.6
José Neves Independent11,6632.3
Luís Alves TilmanIndependent11,1252.2
Antonio Maher Lopes Socialist Party of Timor 9,1021.8
Ángela FreitasTimorese Workers' Party4,3530.8
Amorim VieiraIndependent4,2830.8
Invalid/blank votes11,932
Total528,813100
Registered voters/turnout743,15071.2
Source: CNE

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References