DILI: A growing band of high-profile figures have warned national leaders that the country’s economic security and development rests on them urgently coming together to dialogue and find consensus agreements on State issues to end Timor-Leste’s ongoing political uncertainty.

The President of the Republic used a speech in Tasi Tolu on Friday to appeal for national leaders to address their differences, amid an almost 24-month government administrative paralysis, to enable state programs and services to run reliably.

The danger, Francisco Lu Olo Guterres claimed, was that the country would continue to exist in political paralysis if leaders did not “want” to dialogue and agree on a common path forward.

Speaking at the same event, Major General Lere Anan Timur called for “consensus” and “face-to-face” dialogue from national leaders.

Timur said the country had faced “two years” of “unresolved uncertainty” due to political differences, and said uniting leaders was now “the most important” issue confronting the country.

The call comes as senior figures want agreement on the 2019 General State Budget currently being discussed in parliament, to offset further delays in the disbursement of state funds.

Timur warned that the national defence program was at risk of collapsing if it did not receive clear direction and financial support from the government.

Commentators close to Dili have warned that ongoing political deadlock could maintain the government’s administration paralysis that stifled the nation’s economy in 2018.

“Due to the delay in the passage of the budget last year, many businesses complained that they struggled to stay afloat, and this likely held back the country’s economic recovery,” Finch Solutions said in a report released last week.

The plea for dialogue comes amid a very open and public battle between the government of Timor-Leste and President Francisco Lu Olo Guterres, that saw Lu Olo denied permission to travel overseas in 2018 to represent Timor-Leste, a parliamentary right.

The conflict has spiralled since June 2018 when the President rejected 11 people originally nominated for the government’s ministerial and vice-ministerial posts because of corruption investigations.

To this date the government does not have a full cabinet.

Previously, Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak has said he wanted to make a consensus on the party in Parliament to immediately resolve political uncertainty in Timor-Leste.

"As the Prime Minister will agree if the President of the Republic asks for Dialogue and consensus," he said. But the Prime Minister hopes that the OJE 2109 will be immediately returned to the President of the Republic to be promoted as soon as possible, he said.