Does Timor-Leste’s upcoming election herald a more inclusive and progressive democracy?

Next week’s election will feature more female candidates than ever, but their impact on the country’s patriarchal cultural norms remains to be seen.

Next week, Timor-Leste will hold the seventh presidential election that the country has conducted on its own since gaining its independence two decades ago. The March 19 poll is the first to take place since the COVID-19 pandemic, and will feature the largest-ever pool of candidates running for president, including four women, an apparent sign that the country is forging a more inclusive politics and moving beyond consensus politics and big man rule.

Click here to read the full article published by The Diplomat on 11 March 2022.