FINAL ELECTION RESULTS ANNOUNCED TODAY IN EAST TIMOR

The Chief Electoral Officer of the East Timor's Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), Carlos Valenzuela, today presented the full and final results of the 30 August Constituent Assembly elections.

"It is my fervent hope that the elections this year will have proven to the people of East Timor that elections can and should be peaceful events," Valenzuela said today. "This would be the greatest legacy of this election."

Fretilin is the winning party, with 43 seats in the national election, and 12 of the 13 district seats. The 88-member assembly will consist of one representative from each of East Timor's 13 districts, with the rest of the seats divided on a proportional representation basis. The seat allocation on national seats is as follows:

Frente Revolucionária do Timor-Leste Independente (Fretilin): 57.3 % of the vote, 43 seats; Partido Democrático (PD): 8.7 %, 7 seats; Partido Social Democrata (PSD): 8.1%, 6 seats; Associação Social-Democrata Timorense (ASDT): 7.8 %, 6 seats; União Democrática Timorense (UDT): 2.3 %, 2 seats; Partido Nasionalista Timorense (PNT): 2.2 %, 2 seats; Klibur Oan Timor Asuwain (KOTA): 2.1 %, 2 seats; Partido do Povo de Timor (PPT): 2 %, 2 seats; Partido Democrata Cristão (PDC): 1.9 %, 2 seats; Partido Socialista de Timor (PST): 1.7 %, 1 seat; Partai Liberal (PL): 1.1 %, 1 seat; Partido Democrata-Cristão de Timor (UDC/PDC): 0.6 %, 1 seat.

Twenty four of the 88 new Assembly members are women, totaling 27 % of the members.

The results for the final remaining district, Dili, were announced separately earlier in the day. The district representative is Cipriana da Costa Pereira from Fretilin. In the national representative results, Fretilin received 66 % of the vote; Associação Social-Democrata Timorense (ASDT) received 10.7 %; Partido Democrático (PD) received 5.8 %, and Partido Social Democrata (PSD) received 4.7 %. The other parties and independent candidates each received less than 3 % of the vote.

Parties and independent candidates have until 6pm on 8 September to lodge complaints for the IEC Board of Commissioners to consider. The Board will respond to the few complains lodged so far by the certification deadline of Monday, 10 September. The results will not be official until they are certified by the Board of Commissioners and formally handed to SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello at a ceremony on Monday. Valanzuela praised the elections as "the most peaceful" of the more than a dozen he has worked on.

SRSG CONGRATULATES ALL INVOLVED IN THE ELECTION PROCESS

SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello today congratulated all those involved in the 30 August electoral process. "I believe that the final provisional results announced this morning are a clear indication of the aspirations of the Timorese people," he said at a press conference after the announcement of results, with Xanana Gusmão at his side.

The SRSG will now appoint the second Transitional Government of East Timor, which will be formed and will be headed by an all-Timorese Council of Ministers.

Please find attached the full transcript of the SRSG's statement today in Dili

SRSG, TIMORESE LEADERS TO MEET MEGAWATI IN JAKARTA

The SRSG today announced that he and members of the East Timorese leadership would be visiting Jakarta, Indonesia, next week at the invitation of Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

The SRSG will be accompanied to Jakarta on 13 September independence by leader Xanana Gusmão, Cabinet Member for Foreign Affairs José Ramos-Horta, and possibly Fretilin secretary-general Mari Alkatiri. The meeting with President Megawati is scheduled for 14 September.

The SRSG said the invitation had been extended by Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda, who had telephoned him to convey his congratulations to UNTAET and to the East Timorese people on the successful and peaceful election.

"I welcome this invitation [from the Indonesians]," the SRSG said, noting that it augured well for bilateral relations between the two countries. "We can now launch the high-level consultations which have been stalled for some time," he said, adding that discussions would center on matters of crucial relevance to East Timor, including justice and border issues.

FIRST TRANSITIONAL CABINET HOLDS LAST FORMAL MEETING

The first East Timor Transitional Cabinet today held its final formal meeting in view of the imminent appointment of a new Council of Ministers by SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello. The Cabinet today approved a Directive describing the procedures for the administration of revenue laws in East Timor. The Directive outlines in detail the procedures governing the operational activities of the Customs Service in East Timor. Among other things, it designates official ports of entry into East Timor.