workforce
campusreview.com.au
Vote of confidence
The Aussie academic who
monitors Timor-Leste’s elections,
and why they matter for us.
Damien Kingsbury interviewed
by Loren Smith
R
ecently, Xanana Gusmão’s Alliance of Change for Progress
(AMP) – an opposition coalition – clinched election victory
in Timor-Leste (formerly known as East Timor).
Gusmão, Timor-Leste’s first and fourth prime minister, is
commonly viewed as a national hero due to his resistance against
Indonesian occupation from the mid-1970s onwards.
Monitoring the process that culminated in AMP’s win was an
array of international observers. The 48 people from Australia, the
largest and arguably most influential contingent, were led by Deakin
University professor of international politics, Damien Kingsbury.
He became “hooked” on Timor-Leste after monitoring its 1999
independence ballot and witnessing intimidation and violence by
Indonesian forces. “People we knew were being killed. I was pretty
angry about it.”
Though Kingsbury said the latest “[electoral] process … was great,”
in both this and the former election, a political leader alleged
process subversion, and a consequential flawed result.
“We disputed that because from our research, the process was
actually as it was said to be,” Kingsbury said.
“We discovered that this politician was making these claims
because with a slight change in the vote, his party would have been
given the first opportunity to form government. That’s just politics.
“We issued a statement very quickly, [refuting his claims] … and
said that his evidence should be reported to the Court of Appeal
per constitutional requirements. Of course, there was no evidence,
so he didn’t proceed.”
26
A long-standing Timor scholar and election observer, Kingsbury’s
election reports are held in high esteem by the Timor-Leste
government. His report on the 2012 election, for example, noted
that some voters were taking photos of their ballot papers using
their smartphones. Upon exiting the voting booths, they would
show their phones to waiting people, presumably under a ‘payment
for vote’ scheme. The government then acted to stamp out this
process during the following election.
Timor-Leste’s politics matter to Australia. As Kingsbury notes, we
don’t want an unstable neighbour on our doorstep. Also, a steady,
democratic government can help ease bi-national disputes, like
those involving maritime borders and mining.
Campus Review recently spoke with Kingsbury to learn more
about the Timor-Leste elections and their relevance to Australia.
CR: Before we get to the election results, can you tell me what your
role as coordinator of the observation mission entails?
DK: Because I’ve been doing it for a while now – it’s coming up to
20 years – I have a database of people who’ve expressed interest
in coming along on these things. People from East Timor-Australia
friendship groups, parliamentarians, trade unionists, academics,
people from the Australian Electoral Commission – a really wide
range of people. So when these elections come up, I put out a call.
It’s a volunteer process, so everybody has to pay for themselves.
I organise their accreditation, but not their travel arrangements,
though we do tend to stay in much the same sorts of places, and I
do assist them with as much general information as possible.
I brief the observers on what they need to do, and on the safety
issues, health concerns and so on.
And I’ve also had some assistance, too, from the head of the
international branch of the Australian Electoral Commission,
Michael Maley. We explain the electoral process to the observers
and tell them what they need to look out for. We give them a
check sheet and send them out to regions. And because they’re
volunteers, we don’t tell them where to go, but if they ask for