Ceremony most democratic! Chris White reports on Timor Lester’s Presidential elections 2012 (An April 5th update with corrections on the earlier post) Observer I was on March 23rd an International Solidarity Election Observer in Dili for the first round for this new nation’s Presidential elections. Fretilin’s Francisco “Lu Olo” Guterres gained the highest vote with [...]

TIMOR-LESTE goes to the polls again on 17 March to elect a new president for a five-year term. While the president’s role is largely symbolic, and government is formed at the parliamentary elections in June, the election is important in several respects. First, it will set in place part of the leadership that will take [...]

Timorese elections: ‘big man’ culture v. ‘mauberism’ by Tim Anderson This year’s (2012) elections in Timor Leste will not just be about a clash of parties or personalities, but also a confrontation between two important themes: ‘mauberism’ and ‘big man’ culture. Fretilin’s better known ‘mauberism’ is an assertion of indigenous identity which stresses cultural pride [...]

Update: Sunrise and the pipeline contest http://www.laohamutuk.org/Oil/Sunrise/10Sunrise.htm

I am following the Timor-Leste Presidential elections in two stages, with current President Ramos-Horta,Lu’Olo Fretilin and Taur Matan Ruak the main contenders out of 14. Although some Australians say the President is just a figure- head, the East Timorese political practice means the President is politically powerful. Reports below 1. From ETAN a report by [...]