This is a near verbatim transcript of SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello statement today following the announcement of the final results of the 30 August elections by the Chief Electoral Officer Carlos Valenzuela.

Dili, 6 September 2001

"I would like to say that I believe that the final provisional results that have been announced this morning are a clear indication of the aspirations of the Timorese people. I would like to thank and commend all of the Timorese who turned out in such massive numbers on the 30th of August, as well as the political parties' leaderships and the independent candidates that have made this, through their behavior and their example, a most compelling and historic electoral process, of which many democratic countries can be jealous. East Timor has once again defied and proven wrong those skeptics who doubted its political maturity and the eloquence of its democratic feelings. I congratulate the signatories of the Pact of National Unity, as well as the two parties that did not sign it, for adhering in practice to its principles, and in particular the East Timorese people for repeatedly and publicly demanding that they do so.

I wish to congratulate Fretilin for its strong showing, and believe the significant returns attained by other political parties attests to the healthy state of East Timor's young multiparty democracy. We are still waiting for these final results to be certified next Monday [September] the 10th, and until then I don't think I should be making any further comments on their implications.

Let me just point out that 23 women have been elected to the Constituent Assembly: 27% of the seats go to women. I regret we didn't make it to 33% - which is an objective we have been fighting for - but let me say 27% is not bad at all, compared with many parliaments in [other] democratic countries. So my congratulations to all the women that have been elected to the Constituent Assembly.

Some parties and independent candidates may feel disappointed with the result, but this is inevitable in any democratic process. Let me recall Churchill's famous sentence "Democracy is the worst form of Government, save for all the others that have been tried so far." Therefore let's wait for the next electoral opportunity for those who may be disappointed with the results announced here this morning to try another second chance in getting the confidence of the Timorese people.

Those wishing to lodge complaints with the IEC over the voting or counting process have an absolute right to do so before Saturday September 8 at 6 pm. The Commissioners will investigate all such claims. However, and this is my opinion corroborated by hundreds of electoral observers, I believe the voting and counting process was properly and rigorously conducted, and that the results announced today reflect the will of the people of East Timor, and I wish to congratulate all the staff of the Independent Electoral Commission for such a fabulous job.

Following on from these results, the second Transitional Government will be formed headed by an all-Timorese Council of Ministers, and I shall begin in exactly 35 minutes my consultations with Mari Alkatiri, Secretary-General of the largest winning party, on the composition of this new Government. I hope to appoint the Council of Ministers, and hopefully also a Chief Minister of this new Council, soon after the certification of the final results on the 10th of September. And I would expect the members of this new Council of Ministers to be sworn-in formally sometime next week. On Saturday September the 15th we shall, as you know, inaugurate the Constituent Assembly.

Let me also share with you a piece of information which I find extremely encouraging for the future of this transition and for the future of an independent East Timor. Yesterday morning I received a call from our friend, my friend Hassan Wirajuda, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia. Minister Wirajuda wished to convey the congratulations of the Indonesian Government for the orderly and peaceful conduct of the electoral process in East Timor, and he wished to congratulate the Timorese people, the Timorese leadership and UNTAET for what he believes was a solid foundation in the building of this new nation.

Second, he extended an invitation, based on an earlier conversation we had in Hanoi together with Xanana Gusmão and Jose Ramos Horta in late July, during the ASEAN ministerial meeting, and he suggested, and I accepted, that we visit Jakarta next week for a meeting with President Megawati Sukaronoputri, as well as Coordinating Minister for Security and Political Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, himself Hassan Wirajuda, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and hopefully also the new Attorney General Muhamad Abdurrachman. We shall be leaving, when I say we I mean Xanana Gusmão, Jose Ramos-Horta and possibly Mari Alkatiri, and myself, on Thursday the [September] 13th for meetings with ministers in the afternoon of that day and a meeting with President Megawati on Friday the 14th, before we return to Dili for the swearing in ceremony of the Constituent Assembly on Saturday morning.

I welcome this invitation and I believe we can now launch the high-level consultations that have been stalled for some time and this augurs well, very well for future relations between this second transitional government and the new Government in Jakarta.