At stake in this election:

• 65 seats in the National Parliament

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Taur Matan RUAK
• 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.
• 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 parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor / Frente Revolucionária de Timor-Leste Independente (FReTiLIn)
  • Leader: Francisco "Lu Olo" GUTERRES
  • Seats won in last election: 21
• Party: National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction / Conselho Nacional de Reconstrução de Timor (CNRT)
  • Leader: Xanana GUSMAO
  • Seats won in last election: 18
• Party: Timorese Social Democratic Association / Associação Social-Democrata Timorense (ASDT)
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last election: 0
• Party: Socialist Party of Timor / Partido Socialista de Timor (PST)
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last election: 0
• Party: Democratic Party / Partido Democrático (PD)
  • Leader: Fernando de ARAJUO
  • Seats won in last election: 8
• Party: Front for National Reconstruction of Timor-Leste - Change / Frente de Reconstrução Nacional de Timor-Leste - Mudança
  • Leader: José Luís GUTERRES
  • Seats won in last election: N/A
• Party: Party of National Unity for the Children of Timor / Kmanek Habduras Unidade Nasional Timor Oan
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last election: N/A
• Party: Social Democratic Party
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last election: 0
• Party: National Development Party
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last election: N/A
• Party: National Unity of Timorese Resistence / União Nacional Democrática de Resistência Timorense (UNDERTIM)
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last election: 2
• Party: Timorese Democratic Union
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last election: 0
• Party: Republican Party
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last election: 0
• Coalition: PLPA/PDRT / Partido Liberta Povo Aileba/Partido Democratika Republica de Timor
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last election: 0
• Party: Timorese Popular Monarchist Association / Associação Popular Monarquia Timorense (APMT)
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last election: N/A
• Party: National Unity Party / Partido Unidade Nacional
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last election: 3
• Coalition: Proclaimer Bloc / Coligação Bloco Proclamador****************
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last election: 0
• Coalition: Democratic Alliance*****************
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last election: 2
• Party: Timorese Democratic Party
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last election: 0
• Party: Liberal Democratic Party
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last election: N/A
• Party: People's Development Party
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last election: N/A
• Party: Christian Democratic Party
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last election: 0

**************** Comprises the Millennium Democratic Party and PARENTIL.
***************** Comprises the Association of Timorese Heroes and Labor Party of East Timor.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 1,201,255 (July 2012)
• Registered Voters: 645,624 (July 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: 25 (following the 2012 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.)