East Timorese Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak withdrew his resignation today, which he submitted to the head of state on 22 February, he announced to journalists.
Taur Matan Ruak, who was speaking after his weekly meeting with the President of the Republic, explained that he made the decision to back down in his resignation taking into account the emergency situation in the country due to the covid-19 pandemic.
“I decided to withdraw the presentation of the resignation request to the President because at this moment the nation needs everyone. I am as prime minister and I have to give the maximum contribution to the nation. So I withdrew my resignation,” said Taur Matan Ruak.
“The President reiterated his maximum support for the Prime Minister and the Government so that we can make the maximum effort to combat the effects, so that it does not affect our citizens,” he said.
Covid-19 effects
Taur Matan Ruak explained that at the meeting with the head of state he also discussed the current preparations underway to “mitigate and minimize the effects of covid-19 in the country”.
The head of state had not yet announced any decision on the submission of the resignation of Taur Matan Ruak.
Nor did it comment on a new alliance with a parliamentary majority, which brings together six parties with a parliamentary seat and represents 34 of the 65 deputies and which nominated Xanana Gusmão, president of the National Congress of Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT) as prime minister.
Timor-Leste currently has a confirmed case of covid-19 and is in a state of emergency.
The new coronavirus, responsible for the covid-19 pandemic, has already infected around 1.4 million people worldwide, of whom more than 80,000 died.
Of the cases of infection, about 260 thousand are considered cured.
After appearing in China in December, the outbreak spread across the world, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a pandemic situation.
