National Parliament

The National Parliament is the unicameral national legislature in East Timor. It was created in 2001 as the Constituent Assembly while the country was still under the supervision of the United Nations, but renamed itself to the National Parliament with the attaining of national independence on 20 May 2002.StructureNational Parliament has 65 members, elected every 5 years through party-list proportional representation voting. The three main components of concerning parliament in East Timor are the National Parliament, the Prime Minister, and the President.PresidentThe President is elected in a separate election from National Parliament, and their role is the head of state. They are able to reject certain legislation, but their role is limited by the Constitution. The current President, as of 20 May 2017, is Francisco Guterres.Prime MinisterThe President appoints the Prime Minister, but it is expected that the President will select the leader of the largest party/coalition. Essentially, if no one party is able to form a majority in its own right, then all the members of parliament subsequently elect the head of government. The Prime Minister carries out the function of the head of government. The current Prime Minister, as of 16 February 2015, is Rui Maria de Araújo.ElectionsElections are held every 5 years using a party-list proportional representation voting system to elect 65 members to the National Assembly. Voting is voluntary for all East Timorese citizens over the age of 17. There have been four elections for the parliament in East Timor: 2001, 2007, 2012 and 2017.