Timor-Leste

National Parliament

Political system
Parliamentary system
Structure of parliament
Unicameral
IPU membership
Yes

About parliament

Basic information such as the official name of parliament and details of its structure and leadership. Also includes the current breakdown of MPs by sex and age, and provisions for quotas and reserved seats.

Parliament name
National Parliament
Chamber name
National Parliament
Structure & status of parliament
Lower chamber
Parliamentary term (years)
5

IPU membership

Affiliation periods
from 2008
IPU Geopolitical Group/s
Asia-Pacific Group

Speaker

Official title
Speaker of the National Parliament
Speaker
Maria Fernanda Lay (Female)
Date of birth: 10 Nov 1954
Term
22 Jun 2023
Additional information

Elected on 22 June 2023.

Speaker terms

No information available

Secretary general

Official title
Secretary General
Secretary General
Edgar Sequeira Martins (Male)
Term
13 Jul 2023
Notes

Appointed on 13 July 2023.

Members

Statutory number of members
65
Principal mode of designation of members
Directly elected
Directly elected members
65
Current number of members
65
Men
42
Women
23
Percentage of women
35.4%
Statutory number of members per country
65
Population (in thousands)
1,384
Inhabitants per parliamentarian
21,292

Age

Data on the age of parliamentarians is collected at the start of the legislature, following the most recent elections. This data is not updated during the legislature, except when parliament notifies the IPU of a change in the youngest or oldest member.

Average age of all members
Click for historical data
Youngest member
Saul Salvador H.J. Amaral (Male)
Youngest member (years)
36
Oldest member
Aliança da Conceição Araújo (Female)
Oldest member (years)
78
Number of members, by age (2023-06)
Breakdown of members by age and gender
18 - 20 21 - 30 31 - 40 41 - 45 46 - 50 51 - 60 61 - 70 71 - 80 81 - 90 91 and over Totals per gender
Male 0 0 1 8 9 17 6 0 0 0 41
Female 0 0 1 7 7 4 4 1 0 0 24
Totals per age interval 0 0 2 15 16 21 10 1 0 0 65
Total <= 45: 17 Total >= 46: 48
Percentage of members, by age
Age at the last election or renewal Overall Male Female
Percentage of MPs 30 years of age or younger
0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Percentage of MPs 40 years of age or younger
3.1% 2% 1.5%
Percentage of MPs 45 years of age or younger
26.2% 14% 12.3%

Reserved seats and quotas

There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
No
Electoral quota for women
Yes

Notes: On electoral lists, one out of every group of three candidates must be a woman, otherwise the list will be rejected.

Sources: Law on Elections of the National Parliament (Art. 12 (3))

Youth quota
No

Links to additional information

Parliamentary website
List of members
Rules of procedure/Standing Orders
Constitution

Historical data for IPU membership

Historical data for IPU membership
Year IPU membership
2020-09
List of values for 2020-09
No
2019-04
List of values for 2019-04
No
2018-06
List of values for 2018-06
No