Dili, August 28, 2026 (Media Democracia) -.The National Electoral Commission (CNE), Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration (STAE), and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (MNEC) held a coordination meeting to prepare the voter registration process for Timorese citizens living abroad, as part of preparations for upcoming elections.
The meeting was led by the President of CNE, José da Costa Belo Pereira, together with the Director-General of STAE, Elviro Fernandes Moniz, and the representative of MNEC, Dr. Ermundo Pinto.
The President of CNE, José da Costa Belo Pereira, said the meeting was very important because the upcoming elections require good coordination between electoral bodies and relevant institutions.
“I think today’s meeting is very important. After the Government and State, especially the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister, considered the upcoming elections very important for Timor-Leste. Therefore, all processes must be well coordinated between the electoral bodies, such as CNE and STAE, together with MNEC,” said José da Costa Belo Pereira.
He explained that voter registration in the country has already been carried out, and now attention will also be given to Timorese citizens and voters living abroad. For this reason, CNE, STAE and MNEC will coordinate to identify appropriate locations and centers for the registration process and, later, for the voting process.
He said that Timor-Leste already has experience from past elections, and that experience will serve as a basis to improve the modalities and work mechanisms abroad.
“Now we are discussing how the existing modalities can be implemented well and how we can cooperate to provide good service to citizens, especially voters, so they can register properly and participate by casting their vote in the elections that will take place in Timor-Leste and abroad.” he said.
José da Costa Belo Pereira also said that according to the preparation schedule, a CNE and STAE delegation will visit several countries abroad at the beginning of October to directly assess locations that can be used for registration and voting.
He explained that the visit will be carried out together with MNEC, including assessing the possibility of using consulates or other appropriate places that can facilitate Timorese citizens.
“CNE and STAE will be present according to the schedule to work and ensure that the registration process runs well. Biometrics will continue, and citizens who are already registered will update their data, while those who are not yet registered will do a new registration.” he said.
He also emphasized that decisions on the calendar and political aspects will depend on the orientation and decision of the Government, while CNE and STAE will implement the electoral process according to their mandate.
On the other hand, MNEC representative Dr. Ermundo Pinto said that the ministry has spent the last two months preparing and coordinating with Timor-Leste’s diplomatic representations abroad, especially in countries with large Timorese communities.
He said that this coordination was carried out through Timorese diplomats in four countries, including Australia, the Republic of Korea, England, and Portugal.
“I think, as the President mentioned, the preparation that MNEC has done over the past two months was first to establish coordination lines with our diplomats abroad, especially in four countries: Australia, South Korea, England, and Portugal.” said Ermundo Pinto.
He informed that through coordination with diplomatic representations, 17 registration centers abroad have been identified. These centers will be important places to facilitate Timorese citizens living in those countries to access the electoral registration process.
“This communication has allowed us to identify 17 registration centers. These centers are places with the largest number of Timorese citizens, and the diplomats helped identify these locations.” he explained.
Ermundo Pinto also called on CNE and STAE to continue bringing services closer to citizens, so that the voter registration process and election preparations can run efficiently and transparently.
He considers this electoral preparation an opportunity for Timor-Leste to demonstrate its commitment to democracy, especially after Timor-Leste joined ASEAN and continues to be a member of CPLP.
“I think CNE and STAE’s work must get closer to citizens and carry out registration well. We want to do this to the maximum, because we have joined ASEAN and we are also a member of CPLP. We want to show what we can do, and we can do it even better.” he said.
He emphasized that the success of the elections is not only the responsibility of electoral bodies and the Government, but requires the contribution of all Timorese citizens.
“Our democracy needs our support and contribution. I think this is a way for all of us to work together. It’s not just the electoral bodies or the Government that work alone, but all citizens must understand that as Timorese, we all contribute to each other so that the elections can be successful.” he said.
Dr. Ermundo Pinto also said that institutions have confidence in the electoral bodies, because past electoral processes were carried out well and met expectations.
“I have full confidence in the electoral bodies because the work they have done so far has gone well and met our expectations. Past elections went well, and now we have to do even better. We all have to think positively and have only one objective: that these elections must run well.” he concluded.
Report By: Trainees Nicodemos and Delfiano
Photo: Trainee Nicodemos