Council of Ministers’ meeting of February 24 th, 2017

Presidency of the Council of Ministers

Sixth Constitutional Government

Dili, February 24th, 2017

Press Release

Meeting of the Council of Ministers of the 24^th February 2017

The Council of Ministers met this Friday, at the Government Palace, in Díli, and the Minister of State, Coordinator of State Administration Affairs and Justice and Minister of State Administration submitted the Government Decree on technical procedures to carry out the presidential elections abroad, which are intended to guarantee the vote and vote count procedure, as well as the tabulation of the electoral results from the diaspora, for the election of the President of the Republic. The Government Decree that regulates the conduct of electoral observation, carried out by individuals representing national or international organisations, was also approved.

The Government Decree that regulates the organisation and functioning of the voting centres and voting stations and the Decree that regulates the conducting of voting procedures, vote counting and tabulation of results were all approved.

To guarantee the fulfilment of electoral justice, the Government approved the Decree on the execution of monitoring of the electoral process, as well as on the activities for journalistic coverage of the electoral process. To support the right to vote for all citizens, the Government approved the Decree on the voting process in hospitals and prison establishments.

Lastly, the Council of Ministers approved the Government Decree on the presence of the PNTL Forces at the voting centres, as an exception, to provide for the safety of all that participate in the electoral process. ETLJB