Across Timor-Leste teams of public information campaigners are educating voters about the upcoming local elections. The polls are the first held by the Timor-Leste government and will bring elected leadership to the country's 443 sukos (villages).

To reach the more remote rural areas, a Dili-based radio station is going on the road with its broadcasts. Radio Rakambia, a community station run by young people, is the only radio station in the country with mobile broadcasting facilities. It has recently started a two-month campaign to explain how the new nation's first election will work. The radio shows will explain how people can become candidates for the posts of village chief and village councils and the roles and responsibilities of officials once they are elected.

Radio Rakambia will target villages in the 12 contiguous districts of Timor-Leste. In the exclave of Oecussi, Timor-Leste's district inside Indonesian West Timor, the Oecussi Women's Center (Centro Feto Enclave Oecussi, CFEO) has taken a lead role in promoting public information campaigns. CFEO members have traveled to all five subdistricts to bring the message of democratic participation to even the more remote villages. With a live band, special songs about the election, presentations, and question and answer sessions, CFEO members attracted large audiences in every village they visited.

In Oebua village, Oecussi, schoolteacher Rosa Sasi explained the importance of the CFEO visit. "This campaign makes the people, especially women, aware that they also have the right to be a community leader. We hope that more women will become candidates for village head and village council."

Both Radio Rakambia and CFEO have worked closely with the Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration (STAE) and the National Department of Territorial Administration (DNAT) to ensure that residents receive accurate and complete information about the upcoming elections. With grants totaling $34,000, USAID has supported the election outreach activities of Radio Rakambia and CFEO. Their efforts boost citizen participation in the election process and empower local residents to take a greater role in their own government.

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