22 May 2001

Dili, East Timor: Sixty United Nations Volunteers arrived in East Timor today to prepare and conduct elections scheduled for 30 August. Another group of 60 UN Volunteers, currently in an orientation programme in Darwin, Australia, is expected to arrive on 27 May.

The first group of UN Volunteers traveled straight to their duty stations today, joining advanced three-person electoral teams deployed in March throughout the territory's 13 districts as part of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET).

"The arrival of these District Electoral Officers completes the UN Volunteers' participation in this historic process for East Timor, bringing the overall number to 820 UN Volunteers working within UNTAET in over 160 professional categories," said Kevin Gilroy, UN Volunteers (UNV) Coordinator in East Timor.

The UN Volunteers make up more than 50 per cent of international civilian personnel, he said, adding: "This is the largest presence in scope and number in a single UN operation in the 30-year history of the UNV programme."

He said the deployment of UNV District Electoral Officers "marks another vital step forward in UNTAET's mission of preparing East Timor for formal independence."

On polling day, Timorese men and women will elect 88 representatives from a dozen political parties who will, in turn, form a Constituent Assembly that will draft a Constitution.

Ray Kennedy, the Chief of Technical Services at the Independent Electoral Commission, describes these elections as "the most important elections in the history of East Timor by which the people will elect the persons to draw up basic laws of the country".

"By 10 July we will post the voter lists throughout the country for people to make sure that information has been recorded correctly," he said.

The Civil Registration exercise, a prerequisite for the 30 August election, is entering its final stage. One hundred thirty UNV Civil Registration Officers have already registered more than 435,000 East Timorese, providing each eligible voter with a blue card allowing them to cast their ballots.

After completing the civil registration process by the end of June, UNV Civil Registration Officers will join the Electoral Unit, bringing the number of UNV District Electoral Officers to 250. Each UN Volunteer will organize and supervise the ballot in a separate polling centre in his or her district.

Some of the newly arrived UN Volunteers at Dili airport were part of a 500-strong contingent of UNV Electoral Officers who helped organize East Timor's 1999 Popular Consultation, at which the vast majority of voters chose independence from Indonesia.

"We are here to finish the job as we left it in September 1999," said Dutch UN Volunteer Jeroen Hamers. "I'm glad to be back and I'm looking forward to meeting again people I knew during the UNAMET time. I hope they are all well."