Election type

Law No 7/2011 

Article 37-A - ‘Timorese citizens living abroad’

1. Timorese citizens who are or reside abroad shall enjoy the protection of the State.

2. Pursuant to paragraph 37-A(1) above, such Timorese citizens may exercise their right to vote as long as they are registered as voters and are in the possession of an updated voter’s card and valid passport.

3. The applicable procedure shall be defined in a regulation to be adopted by the Government.

4. However the provisions written on the above are not applicable to the electoral process in 2012, with the exercise of this right contemplated and regulated by the Government as soon as the necessary conditions are verified.*

An identical provision is contained within 37A of  Law No 6/2006.  See Parliamentary Laws page. Amending Acts are available from the same location.

*Note that Article 39A (4) of Law No. 7/2006 was added by amending act Law No. 2/2012; Article 37A(4) of Law No. 6/2006 was added by amending act Law No. 1/2012.  

Note that no Official English Translation is available for these amending acts.  The translation used here was obtained from UNMIT and UNDP, ‘Compendium for the 2012 Timor-Leste Elections,’ p103, available at this link (as retrieved on 2012-09-09).

For the Official Portuguese versions of Laws No. 1/2012 and No. 2/2012, see this page under ’Laws of the National Parliament – Portuguese’.