NEARLY 178,000 EAST TIMORESE INSPECT VOTER LISTClose to 178,000 East Timorese had examined the voter list for the upcoming Constituent Assembly elections by today’s exhibition and challenge deadline.
The preliminary voter lists were posted on 16 July in each of East Timor’s 65 sub-districts and provided an opportunity for eligible voters who registered with civil registration to rectify any data omissions or errors, and to learn of the location of their polling station. Independent Election Commission (IEC) officials are now processing close to 19,000 claim forms submitted by people wishing to amend personal data on the list.
In a statement released last week the IEC had warned of the possibility that, due to computer problems following the Civil Registration process, there might be cases in which people had registered but did not appear on the voter lists. The IEC therefore re-emphasized the critical importance of the public exhibition period. The IEC has been working on means to ensure that all those eligible are able to vote.
POLITICAL PARTIES TO TAKE UNITY MESSAGE TO BAUCAU
Fourteen political parties are scheduled to hold a “Peace and Democracy Sunday” rally in Baucau city this coming Sunday at which party representatives will reaffirm their adherence to the Pact of National Unity.
The pact, signed on July 8 by fourteen of the sixteen political parties registered in the 30 August Constituent Assembly elections, binds the signatories to a set of principles relating to the upcoming electoral process. It includes calls for the support, respect and dissemination of the principle of non-violence; the unconditional acceptance of the 30 August 1999 Popular Consultation results; and the respect of the results of the Constituent Assembly elections.
More than 15,000 people turned out in Dili on July 8 to attend the Civic Education rally at which the pact was originally signed.
In related news, a large reconciliation meeting will be held tomorrow in Viqueque town to heal divisions caused by fighting between two martial arts groups in March that came to involve a number of villages and resulted in the burning of more than 30 houses.
Members of some 65 villages will gather at a church in Viqueque for the event, which will also be attended by Bishop of Dili Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, Bishop of Baucau Basilio do Nascimento, and a visiting Bishop from Portugal. UNTAET’s Chief of Political Affairs Andrew Whitley will represent SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello at the event. The SRSG is en route to the UN Security Council Open Meeting on East Timor in New York, which takes place on Monday 30 July.
IOM RETURNS WEST TIMOR REFUGEES HOME TO DISTRICTS
The International Organization of Migration (IOM) said today that it had successfully returned 178 refugees back to their homes in six of East Timor’s districts.
Eighty two families comprising 179 people arrived at Dili Port on Tuesday aboard the IOM-operated Patricia-Anne Hotung boat. One returnee subsequently opted to remain in Dili instead of taking IOM transport back to his native district.
Extensive efforts have been made by the IOM, in conjunction with the UNHCR, to ensure that the returnees will be welcomed back into their original communities. The majority of the returnees are from Dili, Lautem and Manatuto districts.
Since January 2000, the Patricia-Anne Hotung conducted 36 similar journeys bringing more than 10,000 refugees back to East Timor. An estimated 182,000 East Timorese have now returned to the territory. Officials say that all future repatriations from West Timor will now likely be conducted overland.