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16th July, 2012
DILI: The ruling party of East Timor resistance hero Xanana Gusmao on Sunday said it was inviting two smaller political parties to form a coalition government.
Gusmao’s centre-left National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT) won 30 seats in parliament in polls earlier this month, three seats shy of the 33 needed for an absolute majority in the 65-seat parliament.
“The conference decided CNRT should invite the Democratic Party and Frente-Mudanca to discuss the issue of establishing a coalition government,” the party’s secretary-general Dionisio Babo Soares said after a meeting.
“We were convinced the option we chose was the best for the stability of the government,” he added.
Police said the announcement sparked small demonstrations around three suburbs of the capital Dili, with two officers injured and as many cars damaged by people throwing rocks.
“We have challenges ahead and we have to discuss with each of the parties beforehand to make sure we have the same issues on the table,” Soares said at the meeting.
The Democratic Party (PD), a member of the previous ruling coalition, won eight seats in parliament, while Frente-Mudanca grabbed two.
The move will keep the left-wing Fretilin party, which was the second most popular party with 25 seats, in opposition for another five years.
Formal negotiations to strike up a coalition are likely to begin once the Court of Appeal announces the final election results in the next few days.
The July 7 vote was a key test for the fragile democracy, which celebrated a decade of formal independence in May.
“The party has decided,” Gusmao told AFP.
“Now it’s not about whether we are happy with that decision or not, the problem is now the new task ahead, and we have to be considerate of that task,” he said.
Thunderous applause and chants of “Viva CNRT!” accompanied his announcement of the final decision.
Frente-Mudanca president Jose Luis Guterres told AFP earlier the party had made clear its “strong support for Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao”
Fretilin’s Estanislau da Silva said the party would continue to work as an opposition in parliament.
“The secretary general of Fretilin called Mr Gusmao and said the door is open to negotiations but they won the election so they have decided,” he said.
The United Nations sees the polls – and their aftermath – as the last big test that will decide whether its remaining 1,300 peacekeepers and other security staff can withdraw.
If a government is formed without any major violence, the United Nations peacekeeping force plans to withdraw before the end of the year.
“After the CNRT announced a coalition with PD some people were out in the streets expressing their displeasure,” said National Police commander Longinhos Monteiro.
“Two of my officers were injured and a few of our vehicles were damaged from people throwing rocks,” he said. “The situation is now calm.” Half of East Timor’s 1.1 million people are officially classified as living in poverty, posing the main challenge for the future government.
Following the end of Portuguese rule in 1975, East Timor was occupied by Indonesia for 24 years. Some 183,000 people died from fighting, disease and starvation before the half-island state voted for independence in 1999.
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