Political Campaigning Concludes Across Timor-Leste

7 Jul 2008

Political Campaigning Concludes Across Timor-Leste

Dili, Timor-Leste 27 June 2007 – As political campaigning concludes throughout the country today, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Timor-Leste, Mr. Atul Khare, commended all political parties and the Timorese people for the largely peaceful manner in which the process was conducted.

"In line with the Political Party Accord and Code of Conduct that were signed last month, the political parties have delivered their message to the Timorese people fairly and free of violence," said Mr. Khare. "This clearly demonstrates their commitment to a free and fair election on 30 June," he added.

Campaigning across Timor-Leste's 13 districts, involving rallies, meetings and the distribution of campaign material, was supervised by the National Electoral Commission (CNE) and monitored by both national and international election observers. The campaigning period started on 29 May 2007.

Mr. Khare also encouraged the Timorese people to take advantage of the next two days leading up to the elections to seriously think about the information they received from all the parties.

"When you cast your vote on 30 June, you will choose the new leaders of your country. This is a very important decision and it must be taken seriously," he said.

UNMIT is mandated through Security Council Resolution 1704 to "support Timor-Leste in all aspects of the 2007 presidential and parliamentary electoral process, including through technical and logistical support, electoral policy advice and verification or other means."

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