EAST TIMOR: Campaign for the upcoming parliamentary election, expected on July 7, begins

Record ID: 346587

  • Title: EAST TIMOR: Campaign for the upcoming parliamentary election, expected on July 7, begins
  • Date: 7th June 2012
  • Summary: DILI, EAST TIMOR (JUNE 5, 2012) (REUTERS) BANNER OF PARTY SOCIALISTA TIMOR (PST) WITH CANDIDATE PHOTOGRAPH PEOPLE WATCHING CAMPAIGN SPEAKERS PST FLAGS VARIOUS OF PARTICIPANTS IN PARTY T-SHIRTS PEOPLE WATCHING (SOUNDBITE) (Tetum) RESIDENT OF DILI, FATIMA MARTINS, SAYING: "I really hope that in this election all leaders could have mutual understanding in order to bring peace and security to the country." TENT SET UP FOR PARTY OF PARTIDO DESENVOLVIMENTO POPULAR (PDP) CAMPAIGN PEOPLE STANDING OUTSIDE TENT PARTY MEMBER GIVING SPEECH PEOPLE LISTENING PARTY MEMBERS PRAYING BEFORE END OF CAMPAIGNING CAMERAMAN FILMING PARTY MEMBERS DURING CAMPAIGN
  • Embargoed: 22nd June 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Timor-Leste
  • Country: Timor-Leste
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAEENRCOV64IREAGM6QIN2M1MMB
  • Story Text: East Timor kicked off its election campaign for the upcoming parliamentary election with 20 political parties taking part to win the 65 seats up for grabs.
    Hundreds of Party Socialista Timor (PST) participants gathered at a soccer field on Tuesday (June 5) for the first campaigning session in Dili.
    The party put up flags and banners around the field and many were seen wearing the party's official t-shirts.
    Residents hoped there would be no conflict in this election.
    "I really hope that in this election all leaders could have mutual understanding in order to bring peace and security to the country," said Fatima Martins, a resident in Dili.
    A smaller party, Partido Desenvolvimento Popular (PDP) also held its first campaign in the capital city.
    Officials said some 624,403 voters have registered in this election.
    In April, former East Timor independence fighter Jose Maria de Vasconcelos was elected president, a post vital to promoting stability in Asia's newest and one of its poorest countries.
    The president plays little role in policy making but is vital to promoting stability in the country that gained independence from Indonesia in 2002 after years of bloody struggle, and was later rocked by factional unrest.
    East Timor was a long-neglected Portuguese colony on the eastern half of a remote island in the southwest Pacific when Indonesia invaded in 1975 and annexed it.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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