On June 12-13, the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) issued regulations for the formation of a joint Timorese-UNTAET "cabinet" and announced changes to the nature of the National Consultative Council (NCC).
The eight-member cabinet will contain four East Timorese and four non-Timorese representatives and will be responsible to UNTAET head Sergio de Mello, who will retain full decision-making powers under the UN Security Council mandate.
According to the Portuguese news service Lusa, the East Timorese members of the new cabinet will include Joao Carrascalao, a vice-president of the National Council for Timorese Resistance (CNRT) and president of the Timorese Democratic Union (UDT) (tipped to be made minister for infrastructure), Mari Alkatiri, a vice-president of Fretilin and a key member of the CNRT (minister of the economy), Filomeno Jacob (social affairs) and Mariano Lopes (internal administration).
The East Timorese appointees will not include any CNRT leaders who are not members of the two major political parties, Fretilin and UDT. Jose Ramos Horta, CNRT vice-president and a key member of the non-party wing of the CNRT, issued a statement in support of the formation of the cabinet. The current 14-member NCC indicated its support for the cabinet proposals at a meeting on July 12.
According to Lusa, international members of the cabinet will be the current number two in the UNTAET hierarchy, Jean-Christien Cady (responsible for police and emergency services), Gita Welsh (justice), Michael Francino (finance) and Peter Galbraith (political affairs).
The new cabinet will be sworn in later in July after de Mello, Xanana Gusmao and Horta return from an ASEAN summit meeting.
On July 14, UNTAET issued a regulation changing the NCC into a new body, the National Council. Unlike the NCC, the NC will have no non-Timorese members. The NC will have 33 members — seven representatives of CNRT, three representatives of parties outside the CNRT, one representative each from the 13 East Timorese districts, and one representative each from Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, "professionals", the non-government organisation forum, labour, farmers, women, youth and students.
There has been considerable public debate around how the district representatives and sectoral representatives will be chosen by UNTAET. There have been no elections or processes to determine which individuals and organisations are genuinely representative. One result of this debate was the decision not to call the new body the National Legislative Council. The NC, as an unelected body to "advise" de Mello, has no power to pass legislation.
BY MAX LANE