East-Timor elections: voters increased by 3.55%, 65.89% in the diaspora

Timorese voters have grown to 3.55% since last year’s presidential elections to 890,145, with diaspora registration almost doubling, according to the final voter registration data for the May 21 legislative elections.

Data from the voter register, published by the Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration (STAE), show that a total of 11,800 voters are registered to vote outside the country – in Australia, South Korea, England, Northern Ireland, and Portugal – 65.89% more than the 7,113 registered to vote in the 2022 presidential elections.

An analysis of the electoral registers, made by Lusa based on data published in the Jornal da República, shows a significant growth in registration.

In total, since the presidential election, 30,532 more voters have entered the rolls.

In the country, the voter registers show that there are now 25,845 more voters on the rolls, spread across thirteen municipalities (Atauro is the first one this year) and the Special Administrative Region of Oecusse-Ambeno (SAROA).

Dili remains the largest municipality, with 187,462 voters – equivalent to more than 21% of total voters – followed by Baucau (99,158) and Ermera (85358).

The administrative post of Dom Aleixo in Dili is the largest, with 85,096 voters, and the administrative post of Fatu Lulic in the municipality of Covalima is the smallest, with only 1,838 voters.

The RAEOA registered the most growth in voter numbers (up 5.43%).

Officially, the smallest electoral growth occurred in the capital, where the total number of voters dropped (down 1.7%).

This number is affected by the division of Ataúro, whose voters were part of the capital municipality in the presidential election.

Ataúro debuted as a municipality, in electoral terms, with 7,598 voters.

Outside the country, Portugal registered the most significant growth (up 114.49% to 1836 voters), followed by Northern Ireland, where there was a 91.06% growth to 2,415 voters, and England, where it increased 66.44% to 3,710, with the country having the largest Timorese voting community abroad.

In the case of Australia, the increase was 50.77%, to 2,242, and in South Korea, the increase was the smallest, 25.06%, to 1,597.

For the May 21 vote, 1,472 voting centers and 1,850 voting stations will be operating in the country and the diaspora – there were 1,200 and 1,500, respectively, in last year’s presidential election.

Besides the centers spread throughout the 452 sucos (administrative division), 65 administrative posts, and 13 municipalities plus the Special Administrative Region of Oecusse-Ambeno (SAROA), there will also be three polling stations in Australia (Darwin, Melbourne, and Sydney), two in South Korea (Gwangju and Seoul), three in Portugal (Lisbon, Porto, and Beja), three in the United Kingdom (Creww, Peterborough, and Oxford) and one in Northern Ireland (Dunganon).

The capital Dili will have the most significant polling stations, a total of 262; Baucau has 150, and  Ataúro has only 15 polling centers and 20 polling stations.

The election campaign ends on May 18.

With information from Lusa

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