Perilous semi-presidentialism? On the democratic performance of Timor-Leste government system

ABSTRACT

Timor-Leste chose semi-presidentialism as its government system to steer the country towards a democratic state. This government system became popular in the course of the ‘Third Wave’ of democratization, but has no other example in Southeast Asia. The Timorese Constituent Assembly was guided not by an appraisal of the virtues and pitfalls of competing systems, but by historical and political factors that led it to craft an institutional solution in line with significant features of Timorese society. Yet the specific form of semi-presidentialism adopted in Timor-Leste (‘president-parliamentarism’) is regarded in the literature as prone to instability. However, in spite of episodes of instability, the conclusion emerging from three consecutive presidencies is one of positive steps in democracy-building and consolidation. This is mainly due to the emergence of ‘independent’ presidents who have sought power-sharing arrangements and promoted inclusive governance.

KEYWORDS:

• Semi-presidentialism
• inclusive governance
• independent presidents

Acknowledgements

Special thanks are due to the Timorese political actors who accepted to share their views with me, amongst whom Xanana Gusmão, José Ramos-Horta and Mari Alkatiri must be singled out.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Rui Graça Feijó (DPhil Oxon, 1984). Having teaching experience in various universities in Portugal and Timor-Leste, he pursues studies on Democracy. Author of several essays published as book chapters and journal articles. His books include Dynamics of Democracy in Timor-Leste, 1999-2012. The Birth of a Democratic Nation (Amsterdam, 2016).

Notes

1. It should be noted that these twin definitions are not really symmetrical: whereas ‘premier-presidentialism’ is positively defined, ‘premier-presidentialism’ appears as a residual category for all that does not fir the former model, as the reference to ‘confused’ situations in this category underlines. This will be consequential when attempting to categorize real countries in the model.

2. Lobo and Neto (2009) consider the dividing line between the two sub-types of semi-presidentialism as 3.5 rather than 4.

3. Elgie proposes to define ‘cohabitation’ as ‘the situation where the president and the prime minister are from opposing parties and where the president’s party is not represented in the cabinet’ (2011, p. 12).

Additional information

Funding

This essay is part of a wider project ‘The Birth of a Democratic Nation: Timor-Leste after 1999’ financed by the Portuguese agency for science and technology (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia) (FCT SFRH/BPD/71230/2010), and benefited from the hospitality of Fundação Oriente in Díli, as well as from a research permit from the Secretary of State for the Arts and Culture of the Timorese government;.