On Saturday, the Appeals Court approved the election results. This marks the end of the first round of elections: one down, two to go. The run-off election between Francisco Lu'Olo Guterres and José Ramos-Horta will be on 9 May 2007.Depending on the source, between two and six of the unsuccessful candidates have thrown their support behind Ramos-Horta. A rep from UDT (Carrascalão's party) told Tempo that in exchange for backing JRH: "'We want two seats in the cabinet,' said Rodrigues. The Timor Leste Democratic Union is eying the post of Mining and Energy Minister now held by Jose Teixeira of Fretilin. 'Because we specialize in this field.'"
The Ministry of Mining and Energy oversees Timor Leste's significant oil and gas weath and the over one-billion-dollar Petroleum Fund - the proceeds from which Ramos-Horta has expressed increased interest in tapping. With UDT pulling in less than 2% of the vote, I hope that the PM drives a harder bargain.
Photo: The newest, and in my opinion, best Indian restuarant in Dili. Sucumaran, the proprietor/chef, is from India's southwest Kerala region.
2 comments:
I believe the Cabinet is convened by the Prime Minister in the Timorese parlimentary system. So the winner of the Presidential race doesn't have much say over ministerial appointments at all. (Hence Fretilin's dominance of the cabinet at the moment.)
Hi jg,
Good point.
Also, the Office of the President has very little to do with the administration of the Petroleum Fund, which should make everyone skeptical about promises concerning its future use by candidates.
Voter education needs to cover the capacities of the elected offices so that people can evaluate basic campaign promises.
That said, I do think that the influence of the presidency has frequently been downplayed by the international media. The standard way to describe it is as a "largely ceremonial position," which may not fully capture the scope of the president's influence.
Finally, with the discussions of a Ramos-Horta/Gusmao alliance, I'd expect some interesting, convoluted horse-trading.
Thanks,
Kate
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