The Secretary General of the Democratic Party (PD) told Lusa on Tuesday that, “due to informal talks”, there is an expectation of forming an alliance with the winner of Sunday’s parliamentary elections, the CRNT, headed by Xanana Gusmão.
“We have the principle of respecting justice and the people trusted the CNRT party and in that sense certainly the position of the PD is to continue respecting the voice of the people. Our relationship with the people,” said António da Conceição, in a first reaction to the results.
“In that sense, I think that, although there has not yet been any official invitation, through informal conversations there is this expectation,” he considered.
The National Congress for the Reconstruction of Timor-Leste (CNRT), led by Xanana Gusmão, won the parliamentary elections in Timor-Leste, without reaching an absolute majority.
The political force, which won the biggest victory in its history, secured broad parliamentary representation, with 31 of the 65 seats in Parliament, ten more than it currently has, according to the provisional general results of the Timorese Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration ( STEA) . .
The provisional final count of the STAE, which must be verified by the National Electoral Commission (CNE) and the Court of Appeals, gives Xanana Gusmão’s party 288,101 votes (41.62%), a result higher than that obtained by the three political forces that make up the current government.
The most likely scenario is that of an alliance between the CNRT and the PD, which would give the two political forces a clear majority of 37 deputies.
Xanana Gusmão must speak to the press this afternoon (in Lisbon tomorrow).
António da Conceição considered that the result shows that the population was “very mature” in the evaluation of the current Government, considering that the executive did not act adequately in the provision of services.
“The Government has always had the General State Budgets [OGE] approved, and the population had the expectation that there would be provision of services. However, numerically we have OGE, but in the provision of services there was almost nothing. In this sense, the people evaluated the situation and gave their position, ”he considered.
The loss of the platform, made up of the three government parties, also marks the end of the presence of the Kmanek Haburas Timor Oan National Unity (KHUNTO), a party linked to the KORKA martial arts group, an aspect highlighted by Conceição.
“We have to start taking a stand on this because of the influence of martial arts. We respect their status as citizens and their right to belong.” [a grupos de artes marciais]but for the party it is important to have a vision of the State”, he considered.
“For the future, we must think carefully about how to consider the existence of political parties and their relations with organized groups. For civil society, which has also provided services to the people, we always consider organizations that should not be political, much less martial arts organizations that have also, on several occasions, shown confrontational positions. Situation that must be analyzed and pondered ”, he affirmed.
Asked about the significant loss of support for Fretilin, the party that has made the Government possible since 2020 and allowed him to reach the end of his term, Conceição said that the electorate penalized that decision.
“In fact, it was a judgment of the people about the situation that we have overcome in recent years. Fretilin should have formed a new government, it could have continued with the same prime minister, but it should have changed its position and presented itself as a party alternative, with a new program,” he said.
“The position he took was only one of contestation and does not demonstrate Fretilin’s own principles and, in that sense, the people also judged that,” he said.
In another context, Conceição, who is currently a deputy, said that “it makes no sense” to try to postpone the inauguration of the new deputies until September, as the current government benches have defended.
“The position adopted by the benches [do Governo] it is based solely on the procedural rules of Parliament which do not link anything with the Constitution. The Constitution must be followed. The term of a legislature is five years, and there is no reason to postpone it,” he said.
The vote count will now be validated by the National Electoral Commission (CNE), before the results are certified by the Court of Appeal and the new 65 members of the Timorese National Parliament are sworn in.
Source: TSF
