Dili, 27 April 2001
REGISTRATION OF POLITICAL PARTIES TO START

Registration of political parties which will participate in the 30 August Constituent Assembly election will take place between 7 May and 24 June. Registered parties can create coalitions of two or more parties in order to submit a common list of candidates. The announcements were made by the Chief Electoral Officer Mr. Carlos Valenzuela on Wednesday at the fourth briefing for political parties at the Independent Electoral Commission national headquarters, where party representatives were instructed on the procedures for the nomination of national and district candidates. The last briefing to parties on the political party registration, candidate nomination and coalition registration procedures will be given next Wednesday, 2 May.

CIVIC EDUCATION TRAINERS PROGRAMME ENDS

The six-day National Training of Trainers Programme in Civic Education ended today with a ceremony at the CNRT Auditorium in Dili. SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello, who attended the ceremony together with CNRT President Xanana Gusmão, in a speech said that the civic educators will play a crucial role in the construction of a new East Timor. He added that it was important that trainers pay particular attention to women and youth, since these groups play a fundamental role in building peace, democracy and stability in the country. “The strengthening of public consciousness of rights and responsibilities are the best instruments against opportunists who are trying to take advantage of the lack of information in society,” said Sergio Vieira de Mello. The participants, from CNRT, the NGO Forum, the East Timor Women Network and the Student Solidarity Council, will form district teams of trainers and serve as community facilitators for the civic education campaign. Fifty-two representatives from all 13 districts took part in the training, which focused on the election, human rights, the constitution, peace, stability and security, democracy and participation.

CONSULTANTS ON CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT
ARRIVE IN EAST TIMOR


Four international consultants have been hired to carry out an assessment on the strategy on capacity development for the governance and the public sector in East Timor during the transition and its aftermath. One of the consultants visited East Timor last month to design a strategy framework for the capacity development. The expert had a range of discussions with UNTAET, the East Timor Transitional Administration, donors and the East Timorese public on the matter. The four consultants, from Canada and Belgium, will be in East Timor for three months to continue the design of the next level of the plan. The preliminary plan will be presented by Emilia Pires, the head of National Development and Planning Agency at the donors meeting in Canberra, Australia, in June. A more complete report will be presented before Cabinet in mid-July.

OVER 196,000 EAST TIMORESE REGISTERED

The Civil Registry Unit has registered 196,032 of the population as of yesterday, 26 April. Over 43,000 persons were registered this week, almost 20,000 above the number that were registered the previous week. Eighteen additional international registration staff will be arriving in Dili before the end of next week along with additional computer material. The staff will receive intense specialized computer training in the Civil Registry Unit before being deployed to the districts. These measures are expected to speed up the registration process even further.