The CNRT deputy Fernanda Lay was elected this Thursday as the first woman to preside over the Timorese National Parliament, in the session that marked the beginning of the VI legislature and in which the 65 new deputies were sworn in.
María Fernanda Lay was elected with 45 votes in favor, 19 abstentions and one blank vote, in a secret ballot, but where there was division in the opposition, since the two majority parties represent only 37 seats.
The 19 abstentions coincide with the total number of seats held by Fretilin, the second political force.
“The deputy María Fernanda Lay was elected president of the National Parliament,” said Aniceto Guterres Lopes. “First Timorese woman elected head of a sovereign body. My congratulations to the new president, and to the Timorese women. Now I invite you to occupy the presidency of the parliament, to complete today’s plenary agenda”.
The new president was the only candidate for the position presented until the expiration of the term, which ended on Wednesday, being supported by the two parties that make up the new parliamentary majority, the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT) and the Democratic Party (PD). . .
“I, María Fernanda Lay, declare that I agree to run for the presidency of the National Parliament,” he wrote in the brief letter of acceptance of the candidacy.
Lay, 68 years old and born in Baucau, has held various leadership positions in various specialized commissions, with an emphasis on the Public Finance commission.
Present in parliament since 2007, always on the CNRT bench, Fernanda Lay is one of the party’s strong voices on public finance issues, traditionally being the deputy that leads the party’s interventions on issues such as the General State Budget ( OGE).
Her appointment implies, by constitutional norms, that Fernanda Lay will also be the first woman to assume, even temporarily, the functions of President of the Republic, in cases such as the absence of the country’s head of state.
This situation should take place in the coming days during a visit by José Ramos-Horta to Germany.
Shortly before the vote, standing up, the new deputies were sworn in.
“I swear by God, by the people and by my honor, to faithfully fulfill the functions incumbent on me, to comply and enforce the Constitution and the Laws, and to dedicate all my energy and capacity to the defense and consolidation of national rights.” independence, unity and integrity”, declared the new deputies together.
Prior to the election of the new speaker of parliament, the replacement of six of the elected deputies, including some of the top national leaders, was completed.
“Having to be absent from the PN for a period of more than three days because I am performing the functions of PM [primeiro-ministro]I come here (…) to ask for an advance justification of absences and replacement of the term until the end of the term as prime minister,” Taur Matan Ruak said in a letter to parliament.
This is the third time that Taur Matan Ruak has been elected as a deputy (in the 2017, 2018 and last May elections) and he has never taken the oath or assumed office in any of these cases.
After taking the oath, also the president of the CNRT, Xanana Gusmão, and the secretary-general of the party, Francisco Kalbuadi, will ask their replacement “for reasons of political work”, since the second case will only materialize in the next plenary session, Friday .
There were three replacements in the Revolutionary Front of Independent Timor-Leste (Fretilin), namely Francisco Guterres Lú-Olo, party president, Mari Alkatiri, general secretary, and Lere Anan Timur, a member of the leadership troika.
Source: TSF
