Subject: AN: Aussie commission unable to set up more
registration centers
Date: Sat, 24 Jul 1999 12:22:51 -0400
From: "John M. Miller" <fbp@igc.apc.org>via Kompas web site
Kamis, 22 Juli 1999 Update 10:00 WIB
Ballot: Aussie commission unable to set up more registration centers
Canberra, July 24 (Antara)
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has ruled out the possibility of setting up
more registration centers for the East Timor popular consultation on autonomy as requested
by many East Timorese living in Australia.
The East Timorese residents had asked for the additional registration centers because
they were domiciled in places far removed from each other.
An AEC spokesman said the number of registration centers the commission had provided
was in line with provisions in the May 5 agreement on the East Timor ballot reached by
Indonesia, Portugal and the UN secretary general in New York.
AEC Chief Bill Gray said here Friday that any change as well as addition to the
determined number of registration centers in Australia was totally the business of the
United Nations.
AEC is the institution officially appointed by the UN to carry out the registration
process for East Timorese living in Australia.
As agreed, the AEC has been organizing the process of registration in Australia --
opened on July 16 and to last for a period of 20 days-- at nine centers spread in four
states, namely in Victoria (Melbourne, Dandenong, St. Albans and Oakleigh), in New South
Wales (Campbeltown, Liverpool and Mount Drutt), in West Australia (Perth) and in Northern
Territory (Darwin).
AEC director for information, Brien Hallett, separately told ANTARA that a number of
East Timorese people in Brisbane had asked for the opening of a registration center in the
city or any place in Queensland state.
"We explained to them that concerning the popular consultation, the AEC's duty was
only to provide facilities on infrastructures and experts. We had to reject their
requests," he said. About 20,000 eligible East Timorese voters based in Australia are
expected to give their votes --scheduled to be conducted on August 21 or 22-- to indicate
whether they accept integration into Indonesia with wide-ranging autonomy or independence.
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