Elections in Timor-Leste, 2022-2023

Résumé 0

This brief essay introduces the government system of Timor-Leste enshrined in its Constitution and refers the main political conventions operating in its broad framework. Then, it refers the main features of the electoral system, distinguishing presidential and legislative elections, and offering a summary of the electoral administration.Next, it considers the 2022 presidential elections, placing those polls in the context of the evolution of the previous presidential terms in office and the sharp distinction of the incumbent’s mandate. A brief analysis of the results suggest that electors rejected the incumbent’s platform and chose a return to conventional forms of presidential rule.The third section described the framework for the 2023 parliamentary polls, underlining that these were not “coattails” elections as had been the case in 2007, 2012 and 2017, but still were fought along a default line similar to the 2022 presidential ones. The emerging results were in line with that of the previous year, and the way the country had been ruled for the last few years clearly rejected the incumbent’s platform and chose a return to conventional forms of presidential rule.The final section purports to reflect on some major challenges head: generational turnover and the anticipated eclipse of charismatic authority, new policies to address youth unrest, and economic diversification to combat excessive dependence on oil revenues.