Precedence: bulk
AGREEMENT REGARDING THE MODALITIES FOR THE POPULAR CONSULTATION OF THE EAST
TIMORESE THROUGH A DIRECT BALLOT
The Governments of Indonesia and Portugal and the
Secretary-General of the United Nations,
Agree as follows:
Immediately following the conclusion of the agreement between the
two Governments requesting the Secretary-General to consult the
East Timorese people on whether they would accept or reject the
proposed constitutional framework for autonomy, the
Secretary-General will, subject to the appropriate legislative
mandate, begin preparations for the popular consultation by
deploying in East Timor such personnel as will be adequate for the
purpose of executing the various phases of the consultation
process. Preparations for the vote outside East Timor will also
begin at locations of major East Timorese concentration outside
East Timor.
A. Date for consultation
The ballot will take place on Sunday, 8 August 1999, both
inside and outside East Timor.
B. Question to be put before the voters
The question that the Secretary-General will put to the voters is:
"Do you accept the proposed special autonomy ACCEPT
for East Timor within the Unitary State of
the Republic of Indonesia?
OR
"Do you reject the proposed special autonomy REJECT
for East Timor, leading to East Timor's
separation from Indonesia?"
[scanner's note: the next page is numbered 7, and there are no
pages 2-6. It is possible that some text is missing, but I don't
think so.]
The United Nations logo will appear on the ballot papers. The
ballot papers will include symbols to facilitate voting by
illiterate persons.
C. Entitlement to vote
The following persons, aged 17 years or above, shall be
eligible to vote in the popular consultation:
(a) persons born in East Timor,
(b) persons born outside East Timor but with at least one parent
having been born in East Timor, and
(c) persons whose spouses fall under either of the two categories
above.
D. Schedule of the consultation process (in overlapping time
periods)
The schedule for the operational stages of the consultation
process will be approximately as follows:
Operational planning/Deployment 10 May-15 June
Public information programme/ 10 May - 5 August
Voter education
Preparation and Registration 13 June - 17 July
Exhibition of lists and challenges/ 18 July - 23 July
Decisions on challenges and complaints
Political Campaign 20 July - 5 August*
Cooling off period 6 August-7 August
Polling Day 8 August
* Subject to revision
E. Operational Phases
a) Information Campaign
The United Nations will make available the text of the main
Agreement and the autonomy document to be voted on in the following
languages: Tetun, Bahasa Indonesia, Portuguese and English.
The United Nations will disseminate and explain the content of the
main Agreement and the autonomy document in an impartial and
factual manner inside and outside East Timor.
The United Nations will explain to voters the process and procedure
of the vote, and the implications of an 'accept' or 'reject' vote.
The radio stations and the newspapers in East Timor as well as
other Indonesian and Portuguese media outlets will be utilized in
the dissemination of this information. Other appropriate means of
dissemination will be made use of as required.
b) Registration
Registration inside and outside East Timor will take place for a
continuous period of 20 days.
Two hundred registration centres will be opened in East Timor for
this purpose.
Outside East Timor, special registration centres will be opened in
Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Denpasar, Ujung Pandang, Sydney,
Darwin, Perth, Melbourne, Lisbon, Maputo, Macau, New York with
adjustments to be made as appropriate. The United Nations may
utilize the services of the Australian Electoral Commission for the
balloting in Australia and of the International Organization for
Migration (IOM) in Portugal and elsewhere.
The registration lists will be exhibited for five days at the end
of the registration period at the respective registration centres,
regional offices and at Dili headquarters. Challenges to the lists
shall be submitted to the regional offices for a final decision by
the Electoral Commission prior to polling day.
c) Campaign
Supporters and opponents of the autonomy proposal will campaign
ahead of the vote in a peaceful and democratic manner during the
period designated for this purpose.
There will be a Code of Conduct for the campaign, to be proposed by
the United Nations and discussed with the supporters and opponents
of the autonomy proposal.
The United Nations will devise the means to provide equal
opportunity for the two sides to disseminate their views to the
public.
Officials of the Governments of Indonesia and Portugal will not
participate in the campaign in support of either option.
East Timorese government officials may campaign in their personal
capacity. All such campaigning will be carried out strictly
according to the Code of Conduct without use of public funds and
government resources or recourse to pressure of office.
d) Balloting in East Timor
Voting in East Timor will take place in approximately 700
registration/polling stations located in 200 polling centres.
e) Balloting outside East Timor
Voting will take place in polling stations set up in the same
locations as the registration centres mentioned above.
f) Observers
Indonesia and Portugal shall be entitled to send an equal
number of representatives to observe all the operational phases of
the consultation process both inside and outside East Timor.
International observers will be able to observe the consultation
process under terms to be developed by the United Nations to
regulate their presence.
F. Funding
The Secretary-General will seek the approval of the Security
Council for the operation in order to ensure assessed budgetary
funding. Voluntary contributions will be channeled through a Trust
Fund established for this purpose.
G. Security
The Indonesian authorities will ensure a secure environment
for a free and fair popular consultation process and will be
responsible for the security of United Nations personnel. A number
of United Nations security guards will be deployed to ensure the
security and safety of United Nations personnel and property. A
number of international civilian police will be available in East
Timor to advise the Indonesian Police during the operational phases
of the popular consultation and, at the time of the consultation,
to supervise the escort of ballot papers and boxes to and from
polling sites.
DONE in New York on this 5th day of May, 1999.
For the Government of Indonesia, Ali Alatas Minister for Foreign
Affairs
For the United Nations, Kofi A. Annan, Secretary-General
For the Government of Portugal, Jaime Gama, Minister for Foreign
Affairs
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*sent by the INTERNATIONAL SECRETARIAT, PARLIAMENTARIANS FOR EAST TIMOR
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SiaR WEBSITE: http://apchr.murdoch.edu.au/minihub/siarlist/maillist.html
