East Timor Government
Country Name
When Fretilin proclaimed East Timor independence on 28 November 1975, they named the country as Republica Democratica de Timor Leste (RDTL) - Democratic Republic of East Timor - Tetum: Republika Democratika Timor Lorosa'e. The international community recognised East Timor's independence from Indonesia on 20 May 2002, and the new East Timor government adopted RDTL as the country name.
Executive
According to the East Timor constitution, the head of the state and the commande in chief of the military is the East Timor President. The President is able to veto legislation, dissolve parliament, giging amnesty to prisoners, and call national elections. East Timor president is elected by popular vote for a fiev-year term and can be nominated for a second term. Since independence on 20 May 2002, East Timor has had two presidents - the first president was Xanana Gusmao and the current president is Jose Ramos Horta, who was shot by the rebels on 11 February 2008 which almost took his life.
Besides president, there is a prime minister who is appointed by the president from the majority vote in the parliamnet election. The Prime Minister is responsible for running day-to-day government affairs. He forms his cabinet and elects counsil of ministers. The first Prime Minister of East Timor was Mari Alkariti, who was forced to step down after sacking 500 soldiers from the army which resulted in the 2006 violence. And the current Prime Minister is Xanana Gusmao and the Deputy Prime Minister is Jose Luis Guterres.:
The ministers of Xanana's Cabinet
- Agriculture Minister: Mariano Sabino
- Administration Minister: Arcangelo Leite
- Commerce and Industry Minister: Gil Alves
- Economic and Development Minister: Joao Goncalves
- Education Minister : Joao Cancio Freitas
- Defense Minister: Taur Matan Ruak
- Finance Minister : Emilia Pires
- Foreign Minister: Zacarias Da Costa
- Health Minister: Nelson Martins
- Minerals and Energetic Minister: Avelinho Coelho
- Ministry of Public Works: Pedro Lay
Legislative - The National Parliament
President of Parliamnet :Fernando Lasama De Araujo (former President of RENETIL.
East Timor is a constitutional democracy in which the East Timorese elect deputies representatives through general election which held every five years. Legislative authority is vested in Parliamnet - Parlamento Nacional de Timor Leste (National Parliament of East Timor. This body is responsible for law-making. They draft, debate and pass bills and legislations. By law the minimun requirement of the seats are 52 and a maximun of 65 seats. There are currently 65 members in the parliament.
The National Parliamnet of East Timor is responsible for:
- Pass relevant, well drafted legislation in a timely manner
- Establish a multiparty system and democratic rules through a productive dialogue
- Provide a counterbalance to the powers of the Presidency and of the Government and
- Establish and maintain proper, efficient and effective communication between the various branches of the Government in order to ensure respect for the Constitution and constitutionally enacted laws, transparency within the public administration, and the independence and impartiality of the judiciary.
Source: From East Timor Government Website.
| Party | Number of Deputies Elected | Number of Deputies |
|---|---|---|
| UNDERTIM | 2 | 3,19% |
| CNRT | 18 | 24,10 % |
| FRETILIN | 21 | 29,02 % |
| Coligação ASDT/PSD | 11 | 15,73% |
| PD | 8 | 11,30% |
| PUN | 3 | 4,55% |
| AD - KOTA/PPT | 2 | 3,20% |
| Total | 65 | 100 % |
Source: From East Timor Government Website.
East Timor Administrative Divisions
The administrative division of East Timor has never been changed since the Portuguese and the Indonesian colonisation. Each district is deaded by an administrator who is responsible for running local governmnet business. The 13 administrative districts of East Timor are:
- AILEU
- AINARO
- BAUCAU
- BOBONARO (MALIANA)
- COVALIMA (SUAI)
- DILI
- ERMERA
- LAUTEM (LOSPALOS)
- LIQUICA
- MANATUTO
- MANUFAHI (SAME)
- OECUSSI (AMBENU)
- VIQUEQUE