United Nations Ballot 8 August, 1999 Text of Agreement Regarding Modalities for Popular Consultation Signed in New York 5 May, 1999________________________________________________________________________________
(Full text of the agreement, as signed and distributed at the UN press briefing on 5 May 1999. We have added a content list with links to sections of the Agreement for practical internet use - ETRA/ÖTK Ed.)
* Agreement
* A. Date for consultation
* B. Question to be put before the voters
* C. Entitlement to vote
* D. Schedule of the consultation process
* E. Operational Phases
* F. Funding
* G. Security
* Signed
________________________________________________________________________________
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.
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A. Date for consultation
The ballot will take place on Sunday, 8 August 1999, both inside and
outside East Timor.
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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 for East Timor within the
Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia? ACCEPT
OR
"Do you reject the proposed special autonomy for East Timor, leading to
East Timor's separation from Indonesia?" REJECT
[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.
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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.
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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/Voter education: 10 May - 5 August
* Preparation and Registration: 13 June - 17 July
* Exhibition of lists and challenges/ Decisions on challenges and
complaints:18 July - 23 July
* Political Campaign: 20 July - 5 August*
* Cooling off period: 6 August-7 August
* Polling Day: 8 August
* Subject to revision
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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