Rebuilding East Timor

Introduction Creating a modern democracy Preparing for elections   Introduction As East Timor rebuilds itself as an independent nation the government, business and citizens have much to learn about the processes of making democratic decisions. Portugal ruled East Timor for over 450 years but suddenly withdrew in 1975, leaving few administrative structures in place. There were three political groups with widely differing views for the future of East Timor. Civil war broke out in August 1975 and Fretilin (Frente Revolucionario de Leste Timor Independent) declared East Timor’s independence in November 1975. A week later, Indonesia declared East Timor the 27th province of Indonesia. Over the next twenty years Indonesia funded physical infrastructure development, but did not empower many East Timorese people. Indonesian was made the official language and Indonesians took most positions of importance. There were no East Timorese judges and lawyers, nor senior civil servants in education, policing, power production or medical services. Supporters of independence fought the Indonesian military until 1999, when a UN-backed referendum produced a strong vote for independence. After the vote, those who refused to accept the results caused wide-scale destruction. Many homes, power installations, bridges, hospitals, schools, government buildings and administrative records were destroyed. Many East Timorese were killed or fled their homes. In September 1999, Australian forces led the UN-sponsored international peacekeeping force (INTERFET) to restore order. The United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) was officially in charge until East Timor became fully independent in May 2002. Many foreign aid workers came into the country to assist the rebuilding. East Timor’s first free elections were held for the 88-member Constituent Assembly in August 2001 and for the presidency in April 2002. Creating a modern democracy The East Timorese government, led by President Xanana Gusmão and Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri, has a major task ahead in building the newly independent country. While it is essential to build physical infrastructure, it is equally important to build the political and administrative structures that govern all social and business interactions. To set up the administrative systems that make a modern democracy possible requires money, time and skilled staff, none of which is plentiful in East Timor. Guaranteeing fair elections that accurately represent the will of the people is one aspect of the infrastructure needed to assure civil, political and human rights. East Timor has made good progress, successfully managing two elections, a wide consultative process to develop the National Development Plan and the reconciliation process to deal with war crimes.  Xanana Gusmao wrote in the introduction to UNDP's National Human Development Report, 'For many long years, we dreamed of independence. Our dream has become a reality. Now we must all play a part in developing a country. Government, the private sector, civil society and communities must work together to reduce poverty and promote economic growth that is sustainable and equitable.' Preparing for elections UNTAET undertook a vast range of activities to develop the people’s understanding of democracy and the capacity to organise and manage elections. These activities included training and coordinating independent election observers (East Timorese and international), and conducting huge voter education campaigns through posters, radio, television and one-off events such as concerts. UNTAET also provided resource centres for candidates, including media campaign material and ongoing civic education campaigns. Two of these projects are outlined in more detail below Project one: The Civic Education for Democracy Project The Civic Education for Democracy Project (CEDP) aimed to help the East Timorese build a strong civil society through encouraging a sound understanding of democratic values and principles. It aimed to build knowledge and skills in relation to the technical aspects of a democracy. This was achieved through a travelling road show of education campaigns which answered questions such as: What is the legislative function of government? What is the executive function of government? Who can become a candidate? How is a political party registered? How do we make our vote effective? How can we influence government decisions? (through community groups, non-government organisations, petitions and protests) How do we build a strong civil society? (awareness of democratic values and principles) The CEDP education campaign increased people's understanding of the principles and values underlying democracy, such as justice, tolerance, fairness, dispute resolution, human rights, civil and political rights, and participation. As well as general programs, there were programs that focused on youth and women. Many young people had missed schooling because of the need to assist in family gardens or because schools lacked trained teachers and resources, so the youth program aimed to counter these obstacles by: developing supplementary materials for inclusion into the school curriculum ensuring that youth are aware of their civic rights and the importance of democracy encouraging parents to teach civic education at home encouraging a dialogue between politicians and youth on a regular basis. Women’s roles in education and civil society had not been valued despite their major role in political and public affairs during the years of unrest. They were targeted to ensure that they were given equal opportunities, acknowledging their contributions and tapping into the strong influence they have on the awareness of democratic values of their children. Project two: Capacity building for the elections in East Timor The Australian Government funded the second project. The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) was responsible for the design and management of the project under the immediate supervision of Independent Transitional Electoral Commission. This project aimed to build the administrative capacity of the East Timorese people so that they could manage future elections without the need of foreign assistance. Successful elections for a Constituent Assembly were held in August 2001 and for President in April 2002. The establishment of an office in which electoral documents, records and training materials are maintained has continued since the elections.    A trained East Timorese person works in the polling booth under the supervision of the International Election Monitoring committee at Cai Rui.. The challenge of running an election It requires a huge amount of organisation, extensive administration facilities, a large number of staff and a lot of preparation time to run a successful election. Imagine starting from scratch to list the names and addresses of 600,000 people scattered throughout the country, overcoming weather, a limited transport network, no electricity and no established procedures. Imagine having to set up voting places and provide trained staff. Imagine having to develop accountable and transparent administrative procedures for record keeping, delivering the correct number of voting papers to each location before election day, and keeping papers secure. East Timorese people worked alongside trained international electoral staff to undertake training and develop records and procedures. A 'cascade program', in which those who learn the skills then teach them to others, allowed the East Timorese to effectively train their own people. Nearly 45,000 staff were trained and records and training materials were developed. Each village was visited and digital cameras, laptop computers and fingerprint scanners were used to create the electoral roll. The elections rated among the smoothest ever held under international auspices: a 91 per cent voter turnout for the 2001 elections (86 per cent in 2002), no accusations of impropriety and almost no violence. Australia’s new capacity building programs In 2003 Australia continued to support the development of good governance through providing support to the Government of East Timor, non-government organisations and statutory authorities in the areas of health, rural development, water and sanitation, governance and education. It provided short- and long-term technical advisers, training programs, and policy research and development. A woman voting in East Timor's 2001 Constituent Assembly election holds out her hand to be sprayed with indelible ink. The ink remains on the fingernail for several days and helps election officials prevent people voting more than once.      The national tally room in Dili during the 2001 election.

Independence was celebrated in East Timor on 20 May 2003 in a variety of ways, including a street parade in the capital Dili.