The Technical Secretariat of Electoral Administration (STAE) admitted on Monday some failures, due to technical and internet problems, which are delaying the publication of the results of the legislative elections on Sunday.
The general director of the STAE, Acilino Manuel Branco, told Lusa that there have been problems in internet communications from the municipalities to Dili, so that the tabulation of results can be inserted.
Almost 7:00 p.m. after the polls closed, on Sunday, the STAE still only released data corresponding to about 48% of the voting centers, which is equivalent to some 258,000 voters, in a universe of more than 890,000 registered voters. .
“We recognize that there are some delays, but due to internet problems. Some information is not updated ‘online’ immediately, despite having been inserted ”, he told Lusa.
“In some places we cannot communicate data between municipalities. We are contacting Timor Telecom to increase capacity,” he said.
In addition to the delays, there have been several criticisms of the STAE results publication process.
Up to now, and according to the most recent data, around 48% of the polling stations have been counted, leading the CNRT with 39.89% of the votes, ahead of Fretilin with 27.89% of the votes. .
The only ways to know the progressive count of the result is to visit STAE itself, in Dili, and consult two televisions available on the spot or, alternatively, follow the tally table, which is broadcast by Rádio Televisão de Timor-Leste (RTTL). .
Even so, the signal for RTTL is not always in real time and, at various times, there is a significant delay compared to the already tabulated count.
Journalists who want to report on the results must take pictures of the screens to record the data.
There is no online site for consultation, and the STAE opted this year, and contrary to what it did in previous elections, to only disclose the national count data, without publishing the tables with the counts in the municipalities and in the diaspora, although they are already closed in some places.
The data of that vote in the municipalities appear in a long footer on the screens, making it impossible to know the votes of each party, or other voting data, such as participation, indicating only the percentages of each party.
Criticism of the STAE regarding the dissemination of results is repeated throughout several elections, with the organization opting, in the second round of the presidential elections, to open an online address to the public where the count could be followed.
Asked about this year’s model, Acilino Manuel Branco justified the decision with the options of the technicians hired to design the computer system, a different company than last year.
“We want to continue promoting transparency. But nothing is provided for in the law or in the regulations. That is the model that is being used this year,” he said.
Source: TSF
