The letter alleges the President of the Republic Francisco Lu Olo Guterres has breached article 106 of the country’s constitution by refusing to inaugurate nine members of the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT) party.
Since June 2018, Guterres has insisted that CNRT’s nominees were of “poor moral standing” because they were under investigation for corruption, or had previous convictions.
Tilman said the letter was signed by 18 members of parliament from the CNRT party.
In a press conference recently, Gusmao said he submitted the letter not to take-over as Prime Minister, but to ensure Guterres adhered to the nation’s laws. He said the continued stall set a “dangerous” precedent to the upcoming political generation.
The letter comes almost a week after Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak nominated five Fretilin members and one from the Democratic Party to fill vacant positions in the government’s Council of Ministers.
The nominations include:
- Julio ‘Meta Malik’ (PD) for Minister for Former Combatants;
- Odete María Freitas Belo for Minister of Health;
- Manuel Von for Minister of Tourism, Commerce and Industry;
- Inácia Teixeira for Mr Von’s Vice-Minister;
- Faustino Cardoso for Minister of State Administration;
- and Fernando Hanjam for Minister of Finance.
