NOTE: A second round of elections was held on 16 April 2012.  Results can be found here.  

At stake in this election:

• The office of President of Timor-Leste

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Jose RAMOS-HORTA
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana GUSMAO
• Assembly: Timor-Leste has a unicameral National Parliament with 65 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by absolute majority vote through a two-round system to serve a 5-year term.
• The Prime Minister is appointed by the president.
• In the National Parliament 65 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms.***

*** There is one, nationwide constituency and a 3 percent threshold for entering parliament. Each list must contain the names of 65 candidates and no fewer than 25 alternate candidates. In addition, every fourth candidate on a list must be female. (Law 6/2006 Article 12 (3) Seats are allocated using the d'Hondt method.

Main Candidates in the First Round of the Presidential race:

• Francisco GUTERRES
  • Party: Revolutionary Front of an Independent Timor-Leste / Frente Revolucionária de Timor-Leste Independente (FRETILIN)
• Taur MATAN RUAK
  • Party: National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction / Conselho Nacional de Reconstrução do Timor (CNRT)
• Fernando LA SAMA
  • Party: Democratic Party / Partido Democrático (PD)
• Lucas DA COSTA
  • Party: N/A
• José LUIS GUTERRES
  • Party: N/A
• Manuel TILMAN
  • Party: N/A
• Francisco XAVIER
  • Party: The Timorese Social Democratic Association
• Angela FREITAS
  • Party: Labor Party
• Abilio ARAUJO
  • Party: The Timorese Nationalist Party
• José RAMOS HORTA
  • Independent(s): N/A

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 1,148,958 (2012)
• Registered Voters: 627,295 (March 2012)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 565,391 (2012)

·         Is Timor-Leste a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Timor-Leste ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (16 April 2003)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 18 (following the 2007 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 133 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: High (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Timor-Leste a signatory to CRPD: No

·         Has Timor-Leste ratified CRPD: No

·         Population with a disability: 172,343 (est.)