Monitoring
of Election-Related Violence Continues
The Election Violence Education and Resolution
(EVER) project issued its second report registering a total
of 45 incidents of election-related violence in the two-week
period at the end of the campaign through election day on June
30. EVER monitors noted that “although election violence
has not been severe, it has been consistently felt in many communities,”
as incidents occurred nearly every day. Following the alert
issued by EVER in its first report identifying the western district
of Ermera as a potential flashpoint, political parties in the
district met to reduce tensions among their supporters in the
last part of the campaign period. The EVER reports are intended
for use by local and national stakeholders such as political
parties, general public, election and security officials, to
help prevent and reduce election violence and tensions in Timor-Leste.
The project is funded by USAID and the US State Department’s
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor and is being implemented
by the International Foundation for Electoral System and local
organization BELUN. (July 16, 2007)
