DILI (TOP) – In less than 45 days, the people of Timor-Leste will enter a people's party or democratic party to elect their leaders in order to save this small country from the threat of a fiscal cliff and repair the constitution that was torn apart by the former President of the Republic, Francisco Guterres Lu Olo with his party FRETILIN in a few last years.
The Covid-19 pandemic and the natural disaster that occurred on April 4 2021 have become a benchmark for the public to evaluate the work performance of the government led by prime minister Taur Matan Ruak and his alliance of the FRETILIN and KHUNTO parties.
The community thinks that the government is not working optimally to improve people's lives and also that there are still many flood victims in 2021 who have not received maximum assistance from the government.
Since the lock down period in March 2021, former prime minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão has assisted the government by going to all corners of Timor-Leste to explain Covid-19 prevention measures and also providing basic food to those who are powerless. Xanana also asked several ASEAN countries such as Thailand and China, and entrepreneur Jack Ma with the Alibaba company to help several thousand doses of vaccines and masks.
With this in mind, Xanana still feels popular in the hearts of every citizen, and since his party opened its consolidation in Dili in June 2022 it has been greeted enthusiastically by thousands of people in this small country.
Nearly thousands of radical militants from the FRETILIN and PLP parties have declared to the public that they will vote for the CNRT party to win in the parliamentary elections which will take place on Sunday 21 May 2023 so that Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão must return to government as prime minister.
Gregorio Saldanha “Mouris” was the former leader of the peaceful demonstration at the Santa Cruz Cemetery on 12 November 1991 where the Indonesian military killed around 250 people at that time.
He was later arrested by the Indonesian military in November 1991 and imprisoned for life in prison in Semarang, Indonesia at that time.
After Timor-Leste's independence he served as President of the 12 November committee, and had founded a political party under the name Partidu Timor Forte or Strong Timor Party (PATIFOR) several years ago.
After observing the political situation regarding preparations for parliamentary elections, on 31 March 2023, the national high council of PATIFOR met and made the decision to provide support to the CNRT party in the parliamentary elections to bring back Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão as prime minister in the upcoming ninth government.
"Previously, we supported President Ramos-Horta in last year's presidential elections, and now we continue to support the CNRT party to win an absolute majority in the parliamentary elections in order to bring Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão back to Palácio do Governo as prime minister," said acting president of PATIFOR, Gregorio Saldanha during a meeting with the secretary general of the CNRT party, Dato Sri Francisco Kalbuadi Lay at the CNRT party office in Dili, Thursday 6 April 2023.
The general secretary of the CNRT party, Dato Sri Francisco Kalbuadi Lay welcomed PATIFOR's political statement with pleasure, and stated that the CNRT party under the leadership of Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão was very open for anyone to join in order to face the parliamentary elections which will take place on 21 May 2023.
The National Commission for Election has announced that around 17 political parties will participate in this year's parliamentary elections, and the CNRT party is at number 12 which symbolizes victory because the number 12 is the number of the birth of Jesus Christ in December which also has 12 apostles.
In early January, Xanana invited all of his party coordinators from 12 municipalities to go to open a regional consolidation in Oe-Kusi Ambeno.
In his speech, Xanana asked his party structures, from the national level to the village level, to work harder to get the target of 33 seats in the parliamentary elections in May.
Xanana also informed his militants and sympathizers of the CNRT party that if the CNRT won with a majority, he would accept people's demands to return to his position as prime minister for the next five-year period.
"If we win absolutely and you ask me to go there to fix what is not good, I will be ready and willing to accept your demands," said Xanana when opening the regional consolidation of the CNRT party in the Oe-Kusi Ambeno enclave area on Sunday, January 14 2023.
"To correct the violations that have occurred we must win with an absolute majority," said Xanana.
Xanana, who is known as a hero for Timor-Leste's independence, explained that the reason the CNRT party left the Majority Alliance for Change (AMP) was because the Prime Minister, Taur Matan Ruak, had never heard or received advice from the CNRT about a good government system. And another reason is suspected that PM Taur is conspiring with the former President of the Republic, Francisco Guterres Lú Olo not to give inauguration to 9 cabinet members from the CNRT party.
"Therefore, it is better for us to leave the alliance than to stay there to support what has gone wrong and not benefit the people," Xanana explained.
The three political parties currently in government namely PLP, KHUNTO and FRETILIN will go in a separate ways in this election, and after the election will sit together to defend their agreement or will split.
The CNRT party also does not want to form a coalition or alliance with any party, the CNRT is confident that it will take its own path to pick up this election, but there is a high possibility that it will form a coalition with a political party if it does not win with an absolute majority.
Political stability is particularly crucial for the country, which officially gained independence only 15 years ago, because it is facing a financial time bomb.
Oil revenues, which finance more than 90 percent of government spending, are rapidly dwindling and the country’s $16 billion sovereign wealth fund could be empty within 10 years with the government’s annual withdrawals exceeding its investment returns, according to La’o Hamutuk, a Timorese research institute.
Timor-Leste, a former Portuguese colony, voted overwhelmingly in 1999 to end 24 years of brutal Indonesian occupation. Indonesia’s military and pro-Indonesian militias responded to the independence referendum with scorched earth attacks that devastated the Timorese half of the island of Timor.
Today, the country of 1.3 million people, still faces poverty with many people lacking clean water and sanitation. Unemployment is high and young people are increasingly looking abroad for work.
To develop the economy, leaders have focused on big ticket infrastructure projects such as airports, a highway and a special economic zone funded from the dwindling $16 billion Timor-Leste Petroleum Fund. It was established in 2005 from revenues from the now almost-dry Bayu-Undan oil field.
Political campaign for parliamentary elections in Timor-Leste will take place from 19 April to 18 May, and the election will be on 21 May 2023.
