Nearly 96 per cent of East Timorese registered in advance of August elections

The civil registration of East Timorese ended today in all 13 of the territory's districts except the capital Dili, where the process has been extended until tomorrow, according to the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET).

As of yesterday, 775,602 people - nearly 96 per cent of East Timor's population - have been registered by the UN mission's Civil Registration Unit, UNTAET said in a statement issued in Dili.

"An estimated 900 people registered in Dili today, an indication that the process has virtually been completed," the statement said.

In a related matter, the deadline for presenting national and district party candidate nomination lists to the Independent Electoral Commission in Dili has been extended from 24 to 27 June.

"I must emphasize that you should regard this new deadline as an absolute one which will not be subject to any further changes," Chief Electoral Officer Carlos Valenzuela wrote in a letter sent today to the political parties.

The extension is a direct result of UNTAET chief Sergio Vieira de Mello's decision to extend the Civil Registration process for a period of three days, according to the procedures for the nomination of candidates.

So far, 12 political parties have been officially registered with the Independent Electoral Commission and four of them have presented their lists of candidates for the 30 August elections for the Constituent Assembly, which will draft East Timor's first constitution.